Magpie confirms career may be over

KATE Sheahan has conceded her AFL Women’s career is likely over after scans confirmed a ruptured ACL.

Sheahan changed direction on receiving a handball in Saturday night’s clash with the Western Bulldogs when she felt pain like “someone got a cricket bat and just whacked the side of my leg”. The Magpie had scans yesterday that confirmed the worst.

“I’ve done my ACL and slightly taken a few fibres off my medial [ligament], but that’s pretty good,” an upbeat Sheahan said. “When it first happened, I was just in a huge amount of pain and hoping, ‘no, maybe I can get up’, and then I realised I was no chance of getting up. That’s when it all came crashing down.”

She said she was “just crushed and just cried” for 15 minutes before gathering herself in realisation that the club was on the cusp of recording its first victory, which it went on to do by seven points.

“It was halftime and we were in the game and I thought, there are a few ways of going here: I can sulk and be disappointed or I can get out there and be a part of it because we’re going to win this game,” Sheahan said.

“That was what I wanted to do because it was part of the reason I was in the team.”