Georgia Heffernan and Jennifer O’Connell underwent surgery on Tuesday to mend serious knee injuries they sustained during the ANZ Premiership.
They were now home and would have four weeks of not being able to bear weight on their injured legs.
From there they would be able to get back into strengthening and movement.
Both had ruptured their anterior cruciate ligaments - which has a nine to 12 month recovery - as well as their medial cruciate ligaments, while Heffernan also suffered meniscus damage.
Heffernan, who did her injury on June 28 against the Northern Stars, was glad to have got the surgery done and now felt a step closer to playing again.
She had spent the past seven weeks strengthening the knee, as well as improving its range of motion and decreasing the swelling.
Her surgeon had felt that would give her a better chance of a successful recovery.
The shooter — in her first year as a contracted player — has remained involved with the team as much as possible.
However, she admitted it had been ‘‘quite tough’’ mentally, particularly when she realised the extent of the injury after what has already been a hard year.
‘‘It was just so annoying,’’ the 20-year-old said.
‘‘The fact that we trained so hard all preseason, then it got put on hold.
‘‘Then me and [twin sister and Steel wing defence] Kate worked so hard through lockdown to maintain our fitness and strength.
‘‘For that to happen was really gutting.
‘‘I put in so much work, I was the strongest I’ve ever been and the fittest I’ve ever been.
‘‘I know it is a part of sport, but it still sucks.’’
She had initially hoped the injury would not be too serious, having initially been in shock and not realised the extent of the pain.
‘‘It felt like my foot gripped too soon. That’s what the physio said to me as well, my foot gripped and it was the court that got me more than anything. It was a bit weird.’’
When O’Connell went down two weeks later Heffernan ‘‘felt sick’’.
While it would be a slow recovery process, it was a case of doing it right, rather than quickly.
Getting back for next season would be great, although she would not put pressure on herself to do that in case it took longer.
