'World's most beautiful footballer' enjoys 'hard rehab week' as she recovers from injury

Ana Maria Markovic managed to keep her Instagram followers happy despite working hard to bounce back from her ACL injury as quick as possible

Posted Wednesday, August 09, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Ana Maria Markovic suffered an injury while in action for Grasshopper earlier this year (Image: Cristiano Mazzi/SPP/REX/Shutterstock)

Ana Maria Markovic was able to make some time for the beach as she continued her recovery in Portugal.

Croatia international Markovic, who has been dubbed the world's most beautiful footballer thanks to her natural good looks, suffered a horror knee injury back in March.

The 23-year-old was forced to use crutches in the week after but has gradually been building back her fitness, and it hasn't stopped her from making the most of the European summer.

After she enjoyed herself at Europe's biggest hip hop festival in Switzerland last month, her latest destination was Portugal for a "hard rehab week" to help further heal her ACL.

She shared two bikini snaps with her 2.8million Instagram followers on Monday (August 7), captioning the post: "Hard rehab week in Portugal - with time to enjoy the beach."

People were falling to their knees in the comments section, with one simply replying: "Stunning." Another hailed: "What a beautiful woman."

'World's most beautiful footballer' enjoys 'hard rehab week' as she recovers from injury
Markovic's latest Instagram upload saw her posing at the beach (Image: @anamxrkovic/Instagram)

A third labelled Markovic: "Perfection. Pure perfection." And after seeing the photos a fourth joked: "I need rehab."

Forward Markovic plays for Swiss side Grasshopper, for whom she's scored four goals in 52 games. She's picked up 11 caps for her country to date, scoring a goal in Women's World Cup qualifying.

She hasn't missed the tournament, though, because Croatia didn't qualify for the finals in Australia and New Zealand.

Markovic has become more famous off the pitch thanks to her title, which she previously admitted is flattering - although she's not a fan of being called sexy.

She told 20 Minuten: "I like articles that call me the most beautiful footballer - or one of the most beautiful - because it makes me happy to hear that I'm beautiful.

"But then there are articles describing me as the 'sexiest' player in football. That doesn't sit well with me. Also, because of my family."