Scan to determine extent of O’Connell’s knee injury

Jennifer O’Connell has been one of the Southern Steel’s big improvers this season. Photo: Gerard...
Jennifer O’Connell. Photo: Gerard O'Brien
Jennifer O’Connell will undergo a scan this week to determine the extent of a knee injury.

The Southern Steel goal shooter left the court in the final minutes of the team’s ANZ Premiership loss against the Central Pulse in Auckland on Friday night. After landing awkwardly on her leg, she fell to the ground and was assisted off.

The injury comes two weeks after that of fellow shooter Georgia Heffernan, who will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

Steel coach Reinga Bloxham dubbed it a cruel blow.

"Everyone is feeling really gutted for her because she was improving with every game," she said.

"The team as a whole was performing a lot stronger with her there so she is going to be a big loss for us to fill.

"We really felt that we were right in the contest with the Pulse and felt that our playing performance had really improved each week, so it’s a huge task to have to rebuild that shooting combination and end again."

The 23-year-old is in her fourth season with the Steel, having played a key role in its 2018 title-winning performance.

Training partner Kiana Pelasio joined the team for last weekend’s games, while Beko League player Grace Namana also made her debut on Saturday against the Northern Stars.

The team plays the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic on Sunday before backing up against the Mainland Tactix the next night.

Add a Comment