After the loneliness and long hours of rehabilitation following knee surgery, three-time Olympian Camille Cheng Lily-mei savoured the “humbling” experience of returning to competition alongside a pair of 13-year-olds.

Out of the pool since she competed in the 2024 Paris Games, Cheng endured a mentally challenging past 12 months as she recovered from the procedure to repair her right anterior cruciate ligament.

“I’ve never had such a big injury and so much time out,” said Cheng, who made a low-key comeback at a Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) meeting this month.

“There’s a physical protocol for recovery, you have timelines, and work with physios and doctors, but there’s no mental support and I really struggled with that.”

A co-founder of mental health charity Mind the Waves, Cheng documented her progress on social media.

“It was partly an accountability thing, but a lot of other people understand the struggle of being injured and there was comfort in sharing, and maybe grabbing a coffee with someone to talk,” she said.