Foster working her way back from harrowing accident

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Rylee Foster remembers flashes of the accident in Finland. She was a passenger in the backseat and recalls the beginning – the car losing control and beginning to roll.

She doesn’t remember going through the front windshield.

Foster, a Canadian goalkeeper who plays for Liverpool FC, suffered extensive injuries from that accident last October, including fractures to vertebrae in her neck. But it could have been much worse.

“I was told that my injury should have made me a tetraplegic – basically not being able to breathe or talk on my own,” she told TSN last month. “I'll be quite honest with you, the reality of me actually being able to walk, breathe, talk on my own was significantly amazing. So, very fortunate for that.”

Foster, 23, is on the road to recovery and is currently outfitted with a halo device to restrict movement in her neck and help stabilize her fractures.

She received some positive news earlier this week after her latest scans. Her bones have fused together, and she is expected to have the halo removed in four weeks, without needing surgery. After that, she will be in a hard neck brace for a few more weeks before she can begin rehab.

Her medical team is hopeful that she can make a full return to playing soccer in about a year.

“My body has responded so well to everything, considering the injuries I had,” she said prior to receiving the news about her latest scans. “I had contusions on my lung that looked like I had cancer, basically – that's how badly destroyed they were from the accident. And they were recovered in three days. So, it's one of those things where my body is working. It just might take a little bit longer than expected.”

Despite the positive outlook, it has been an arduous