“I loved competing,” says the former England international Katie Chapman. “I loved the adrenaline of it. That’s what I think I missed, the adrenaline and addiction to competing. I spent years trying to find that feeling again. I ran a couple of marathons and I did all sorts of things trying to hunt that feeling down, but I had to get it into my mind that actually I’m never going to have that feeling again in the same way. I had to teach myself mentally to say: ‘Listen, you’re not going to get that back, so stop trying to find it.’ Once I got there, then I could move myself forward.”

Chapman won a WSL title with Chelsea and two FA Cups before she ended a 22-year career that began with her debut for Millwall Lionesses in 1996 at the age of 14. She was also a critical component in Arsenal’s 2006-07 quadruple-winning team, having joined from Charlton in 2006, and won 13 major trophies with the Gunners across two spells before signing for Chelsea.

She is lacing up her boots again, for the second time in six and a half months, to take part in Chelsea’s legends...