The West Ham star Rehanne Skinner praised after returning to the pitch during international duty

30th October 2025 Oliver Taliku
Jess Ziu has returned to first-team training for the first time in a year

Jess Ziu has been more than unlucky with injuries in the past two years, but the West Ham star returned to action during the international break.

Ziu returned to full training during the break for the first time since tearing her ACL and her return is a huge boost for Rehanne Skinner’s West Ham.

Jess Ziu returns to the pitch

Following eleven and a half months of recovery, Jess Ziu made her triumphant return for Ireland during their October international break.

After joining West Ham in March 2022, Ziu suffered a major knee injury on October 2nd just four games into her Hammers career.

The West Ham star tore her ACL, LCL and damaging other ligaments in what was a brutal setback.

Ziu made her return for West Ham in 2023, playing 19 games as she seemed to fully recover from the devastating injury.

During her brief time back on the field, Ziu secured a long-term contract with the London club.

But disaster struck yet again in pre-season last year, as Ziu suffered the same ACL injury which ruled her out for just under a year.

Now Ziu has returned to the pitch for a second time and West Ham boss Rehanne Skinner is putting the league on notice.

“Jess [Ziu] is a fantastic player, who has had terrible luck with injuries. When she’s fully fit, we know what she’s capable of doing.”

West Ham are still yet to really see Ziu’s full ability since she joined and the 23-year-old was loaned out to Bristol City at the start of this season.

What next for Jess Ziu?

Ziu will no doubt get a warm reception from fans when she does finally come back which could be as soon as this weekend.

The new Bristol City loanee is yet to feature for the team since signing in summer.

Bristol City are flying in WSL2 this year and Ziu will have plenty of competition for her spot in midfield for the rest of this year.

The Robins are fourth in the Championship after six games – just four points behind league leaders Charlton.

Ziu now has a great opportunity in a lower division to prove her worth to West Ham before her loan is up at the end of this year.

The Hammers have been disastrous this season and they are still yet to gain a point in the WSL after six games.

Despite the West Ham’s poor form, Ziu is expected to see out her season-long loan with the Robins before making her return to London.

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About Oliver Taliku 327 Articles
Olly Taliku has worked with highly respected sports and gambling websites where he has produced hundreds of articles, as well as being published with Burton Albion and Chesterfield FC. At Burton Olly worked closely alongside the women's team, producing mainly matchday content including reports and interviews. He also has experience as an accredited Premier League and EFL writer for Prost International where he worked during the 2021/22 season to produce matchday content as an on location reporter. Olly specialises in women's football as well as long form SEO content plus news and tips. While he enjoys writing about all football, Olly supports Arsenal passionately as a lifelong fan of the club.

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