Injured Kiwi striker could miss World Cup
Hannah Wilkinson screamed as she dropped to the turf in agony.
Having already experienced the pain of tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on a previous occasion, the Vittsjo GIK striker didn’t need a medical diagnosis to reveal the extent of her latest injury, which she suffered in a Swedish cup game against second-tier side Jitex BK.
‘‘It was an exasperating moment of the match. We had to score and were on top but we weren’t finishing,’’ Wilkinson said. ‘‘I remember sprinting at a defender who was in the goal box trying to clear the ball.
‘‘I was running at her from an angle to block her from clearing but as I planted with my right foot to stop – something I’ve done 1000 times – my knee just completely blew out. I knew instantly when it happened. It’s soul-crushing.’’
The 26-year-old described her first ACL tear as the biggest setback of her career. Although she was back on the pitch seven months later, it took a full year before she was back to ‘‘normal’’.
So with the Women’s World Cup less than nine months away, the 87-cap New Zealand international realises her chances of making the cut appear very slim.
‘‘The feeling of it is not particularly nice. It feels like a dislocation of your knee but there’s no question what it is. I just laid on the ground screaming, swearing my head off. I couldn’t believe it. Not again.
‘‘I leaned straight towards the negative and thought ‘the World Cup is right around the corner and I’ve gone and done this’. I’ve let it sink in a little more and I’ve been in contact with my physio and doctors back home and obviously they’re not going to lie, it’s cutting it extremely close.
‘‘It’s not impossible, I guess. That’s me thinking very optimistically. But while it’s very, very difficult I’ll be doing everything I can to make it happen. I’m expecting I may not make it but I’ll be doing everything I can.’’
The latest ACL tear occurred while playing on an artificial turf and Wilkinson said she had no doubts that the different playing surface contributed to the injury.
‘‘If you look at the men’s game, how often are those professional men’s teams playing and training on grass on a consistent basis? It’s always grass. They always have the best conditions.
‘‘If we were in an ideal world then it would just be grass, but the weather in Sweden means we have to be on turf. But then there’s indoor fields with grass so I’d argue why can’t we play on grass the whole time. Turf doesn’t need to be a part of women’s football but it has, ever since the World Cup in Canada.’’
Wilkinson will undergo surgery in Sweden as soon as the swelling reduces. But with her contract due to expire in November, she is likely to complete her rehabilitation in New Zealand.
‘‘My main focus is to rehab as best as possible. I’ll go home where I have physiotherapists who have known me for years, especially having done an ACL before and having help from that. It’s a very unpredictable situation but we’ll just have to wait and see how it works.’’
‘‘My knee just completely blew out. I knew instantly when it happened.’’ Hannah Wilkinson, right