Angel City FC defender Savy King credited the team's medical staff for saving her life in May when she collapsed on the field during an NWSL game, and even though there is no timetable for her return, she is expected to make a full recovery and play again.
"They saved my life," King told Good Morning America. "That will stay with me forever in my heart. And just knowing that I get to play in front of them, too, and see that they were a huge reason why I'm here, I play for them, too, now.
"I was just so happy that I was going to be able to recover and be as normal and almost be like a Savy 2.0 now, so I'll be back, and I'll be better than ever."
King, 20, fell to the ground without contact during a home game at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on May 9.
She was treated on the field for more than 10 minutes -- where she received chest compressions and an AED from medical professionals -- before she was taken to the hospital, where doctors discovered a heart abnormality.
She underwent surgery a few days later.
"For it to happen on that night, in our home stadium, where we had our entire medical team there, it was an incredible work of that group and the timing that it actually happened, to be able to have the outcome that we had," Angel City FC high performance director Sarah Smith told Good Morning America while sitting alongside head athletic trainer Hollie Walusz.
Dr. Richard Kim, who led King's medical team at the hospital, told GMA that King was born with an anomalous left coronary artery. Kim said the medical team created a new pathway for blood to get to King's artery.
"I'd never had any medical history of anything with my heart," King said.
That May 9 match between Angel City and Utah Royals FC carried on, drawing criticism from fans and the NWSL Players Association.
A week later, the NWSL admitted that the game should have stopped, and said that "in any similar situation going forward the game should and would be abandoned."
The NWSLPA called the league's admission, and its promise to change in the future "a meaningful step forward."
The NWSL resumes its regular season on Aug. 1, when Angel City visits Seattle Reign FC.