Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries are serious and potentially career‐ending. Reconstruction surgery and extended rehabilitation typically follow, but some athletes never attain the same level of sport performance. The psychosocial experiences of athletes who sustain ACL injuries and their cognitive appraisal, emotional and behavioral responses to the injury, and reconstruction require further attention during the different recovery phases. The aim is to explore these psychosocial experiences, social support needs and sources thereof of competitive athletes who sustained unilateral ACL ruptures and underwent reconstruction surgery. Semi‐structured interviews with six competitive rugby players (M age: 22.3 ± 2.92 years), elicited information at seven time‐points. We analyzed the qualitative information through thematic analysis. Five common themes emerged: (1) cognitive appraisal, (2) emotional responses (negative and positive affective responses), (3) behavioral responses, (4) social support needs and sources thereof, and (5) adversity‐induced identity expansion (athletic and person‐centered identities). In‐vivo quotes gave a rich description of the athletes' experiences throughout the “long, long journey” to return‐to‐sport. These findings may sensitize and assist sports healthcare professionals, coaches, teammates, family, and friends to explore various psychosocial experiences throughout the injury and recovery period. Phase‐appropriate psychosocial support or referral to sport psychology services is recommended to enhance the recovery process, improve long‐term physical and mental health, and subsequent performance.

中文翻译：

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竞技橄榄球运动员在 ACL 断裂和重建后的“漫长漫长的康复之旅”中的心理社会经历

前十字韧带 (ACL) 损伤很严重，可能会导致职业生涯终结。通常会进行重建手术和长期康复，但有些运动员从未达到相同水平的运动表现。遭受 ACL 损伤的运动员的心理社会经历及其认知评估、对损伤的情绪和行为反应以及重建需要在不同恢复阶段得到进一步关注。目的是探讨单侧 ACL 断裂并接受重建手术的竞技运动员的社会心理经历、社会支持需求及其来源。对六名橄榄球运动员（M 年龄：22.3 ± 2.92 岁）进行半结构化访谈，获取了七个时间点的信息。我们通过主题分析来分析定性信息。出现了五个共同主题：（1）认知评估，（2）情绪反应（消极和积极情感反应），（3）行为反应，（4）社会支持需求及其来源，以及（5）逆境引起的身份扩展（运动和以人为中心的身份）。体内引用丰富地描述了运动员在重返运动的“漫长的旅程”中的经历。这些发现可能会提高运动保健专业人员、教练、队友、家人和朋友的敏感性并帮助他们探索整个受伤和恢复期间的各种心理社会经历。建议采取适合阶段的心理社会支持或转介至运动心理学服务，以促进康复过程，改善长期身心健康以及随后的表现。