Katja Snoeijs: Everton forward’s unusual childhood with hole in her heart and one leg longer than the other

Snoeijs is healthy now, aside from a few niggling hip injuries, and her heart is screened every few years.

Having two legs of different lengths might be expected to cause an issue for someone training to become a professional footballer.

Yet Snoeijs never felt restricted and only now realises what an unusual case she was.

“As a kid you don’t like the hospital visits, but it wasn’t the worst thing. I just sort of showed up and got checked. My parents turned it into a fun thing to do,” she said.

“I really hated the special shoes. I felt a bit stupid and just wanted to wear the Nike shoes or whatever and I couldn’t.

“As soon as I was a teenager and the difference in length was gone, I bought loads of shoes. I got a shoe obsession and maybe still have it.

“Overall in sport, though, I had no issues. My dad always used to say I was better at turning one way because it was shorter. As a kid, I was just not aware of it too much and I didn’t experience many hard times.”

Snoeijs played with normal football boots and “just got on with it”, only noticing slight differences when she got older.

“My right foot is my prominent kicking foot, but in terms of power there is a big difference between the left leg and the right when I’m in the gym,” she said.

“My doctor used to say my right leg was my ‘normal leg’ so my left leg was overly strong and over-compensating.

“I’ve worked a lot with different strength and conditioning coaches to try to get the right leg stronger, but it’s hard to catch up with the left leg that is stronger than it’s supposed to be.”

Hip problems have affected Snoeijs in her football career and she wonders if this has roots in her childhood leg issue.

“We don’t know if they are related, but they might be,” she said.

“I’m so used to walking or doing stuff a certain way that it may have caused problems elsewhere, even if I didn’t feel it or realised I was doing it.”