Arsenal's Emirates Stadium will be full of noise when midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross steps on to the pitch this Sunday to face Crystal Palace. But there will be one important person missing from the crowd: her mother, Jess. The Australia midfielder will play at the stadium for the first time since losing her mum to cancer two months ago.
It is something she says she has been taking "one day at a time". "I know mum would want me here playing and training," she told BBC Sport. "And I want to play for the fans as well, to say thank you to them.
"But it's mixed emotions. Game days are very emotional for me now. I would say I'm excited, but it's also going to be an emotional day.
"I want to play and I want to play for her as well and for the fans." Cooney-Cross's mum was diagnosed with stage four cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of bile duct cancer, in January of this year. She passed away seven months later, in July, at the age of just 45. "She was a beautiful human and I want to carry her with me on and off the pitch," said Cooney-Cross.
The Australia international credits her mother's sacrifices for helping shape her football career. She added: "Mum was a single mum of four girls. Growing up, she was driving me four times a week to train in Melbourne, an hour and a half each way.
We barely had money for fuel. I don't even know half of the sacrifices she's made. "I want to carry her in everything I do and how I am and how I play.
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