Huntington tells of dark times with ACL injury curse
Pain, surgeries, gruelling rehab process and extreme strain on your mental health – AFLW player Isabel Huntington says the impact of an ACL rupture doesn’t get any less after the second or third time.
Huntington, 24, has torn her ACL three times in the space of six years. She is part of a growing club of elite women athletes who have had triple ACL injuries.
Joining the club this year alongside the AFLW player is Matildas fringe player Holly McNamara – who tore her ACL for the third time playing in the A-Leagues just days after being called into the national squad.
Sydney FC midfielder Taylor Ray is back in the A-Leagues this season after her third rupture.
Huntington said thoughts of giving up the game started to creep into her head during her second rehab stint and grew louder during her most recent injury. “There are certainly periods where you think you’re not going to be able to get back or at the very least get back to the level that you were playing at, it’s a pretty dark and lonely time throughout those periods,” she said.
“Particularly the third one, not as many people have come back from three successfully so you have less and less inspiration in terms of athletes that have successfully done it.
“So there were doubts. But it’s a pretty proud moment when you get to run out there again, with your fingers crossed it will be sweet from here on out.”
Leading knee surgeon Dr Chris Vertullo said research had proven the female anatomy made women five to eight times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than men. “Studies take time but I think we need to invest hard in terms of research and getting to the bottom of it and finding some answers,” Huntington said.
The Bulldogs turned Greater Western Sydney player tore her ACL for the first time when she was 17-years-old.
“My first one was in 2016, then I got back and in my second game back I did my other knee,” Huntington said.
“It was a few years between my second and my third, which I did (January 2022).”
She needed an extended time off to recover from the third tear – taking 20 months, instead of the usual 10-12 months.
Huntington made her triumphant return to the field in September, after delaying several times for a niggle and her confidence to return.