One day, in February 2021, Amy Goddard woke up and went for a run. On her return home she took a shower and then looked in the mirror before brushing her teeth. That is when she realised the left side of her face had dropped.

Goddard, who was playing for Crystal Palace semi-professionally in the Championship at the time, went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. The illness, which she had not heard of until her diagnosis, causes sudden and typically temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face. The condition affects one in 70 people in their lifetime in the UK.

Goddard, who is now at WSL 2 side Southampton, says it was a “petrifying” time for her and that it not only affected her physically and mentally but also her football career.

Now fully recovered, the 27-year-old tells her story during Facial Palsy Awareness Week, which runs until Saturday, to help others. In particular she wants to highlight the mental health effect the illness and side-effects of the medication can have on Bell’s palsy patients. Not everyone experiences the side-effects, but the steroids affected her mental health and...