It will be surreal – Chloe Mustaki cannot believe she will play at a World Cup

SURREAL: Republic of Ireland’s Chloe Mustaki, left, cannot wait for the World Cup (Brian Lawless/PA)

Chloe Mustaki has not fully accustomed to the reality that in just three days she will walk out on the pitch at sold-out Stadium Australia as a member of the first Republic of Ireland squad to feature in a Women’s World Cup.

The 27-year-old’s extraordinary journey to this point has been down a road rife with obstacles, from her cancer diagnosis at the age of 19 to a devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury in 2020 and the lonely Covid-19 lockdown recovery that followed.