Edel Thornton is glad to have put a torrid 12 months on the injury front behind her as she prepares to captain Ireland in a double-header against France and Latvia to wrap up her side's FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 qualification campaign.
Thornton has recently returned from a cruciate ligament injury sustained in action for Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in last season’s Paudie O’Connor National Cup final, where she remarkably finished as MVP in the derby victory over Catalyst Fr Mathews.
Ireland, who occupy the bottom spot in Group E after four qualifiers, first travel to Chalon-sur-Saone to face France on Thursday before Sunday's home encounter against the Latvians at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin.
Looking forward to the opening fixture in the double-header, Thornton said: "We’re excited. It’s obviously a big task ahead of us and they’re the Olympics silver medallists, so we know we have our work cut out, but we're just looking forward to playing.
"They're really long and athletic. They do a lot of things really well and they have really talented players in every position.
'It’s our job to disrupt them as best we can and get as much momentum as possible going into Sunday."
Reflecting on her own return to the camp after her lengthy absence, Thornton added: "It's been really nice. I personally haven't been around in a while, so it's nice to get back into the group and everyone's really excited.
"We have a big opportunity on Sunday and I think we all know that. So we're really excited and you can feel that mass of energy.
"It's funny, I didn't realise how long it actually was (her absence) until I was on the way up.
"It's been since 2023, the last time I played, so it's a long time, but you know it feels the same. It's the same people around and it's really nice.
"It’s a bit overwhelming, if you let it, but I'm not, so it's fun.
"I’m 10 months post-op at the moment, so I'm still kind of on that recovery road, but being here and just being able to offer what I can in this position is big, but to be honest, the recovery has been fine.
"I was kind of expecting it to be as difficult as it was, but I suppose this was my end goal.
"I’m here now, so hopefully I can build momentum."
While her return may be recent, Thornton believes the nature of her comeback games to date will have conditioned her for international action.
"I kind of was a bit apprehensive on the idea that I was going to play an Irish game after only four club games, but the four games that we had were really fast and really physical," she revealed.
"To come out on the other end of them to actually be here is great. Mentally, it's nice to have them under my belt, knowing that I can do things and perform.
"Before that, if I didn't have them under my belt, I’d still be a bit too nervous to be here. Hopefully it will really stand to me."
Ireland Squad:
Abigail Rafferty (Oakland Wolves, England), Áine O'Connor, Hazel Finn, Sorcha Tiernan (FloMAX Liffey Celtics), Amy Dooley (Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers), Bridget Herlihy (Unicaja Baloncesto, Spain), Lauryn Homan, Edel Thornton (Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell), Claire Melia (University of Ferrol, Spain), Kate Hickey, Sarah Hickey (SETU Waterford Wildcats), Michelle Clarke (Killester).
FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers:
Thursday, 6 FebruaryFrance v Ireland, 1815
Sunday, 9 FebruaryIreland v Latvia, 1700
