The Northern Stars will be without midcourter Fa'amu Ioane for the remainder of the ANZ netball Premiership after suffering a season ending injury.
Fa'aumu Ioane with the ball. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Scans have revealed that Ioane has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and strained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) of her left knee during the round 10 match against the Mystics last weekend.
Northern Stars General Manager Dianne Lasenby says, the Northern Stars franchise is devastated to see another key player side-lined for the remainder of the season, however has full confidence that the team will continue making in-roads following back to back wins.
"Fa'amu was having an outstanding season and our focus is making sure Fa'amu receives the appropriate medical care and rehabilitation and we wish her all the best."
Head Coach Kiri Wills is frustrated to lose the services of a key player, but having had to already deal with injury issues this season, Wills says this is another obstacle the team will overcome.
"It's pretty awful when one of your team mates go down and Mu is a pretty special person so the team are really feeling it."
Wills added, "she has been playing outstanding netball this season and that won't have gone unnoticed by the national selection panel. We will be putting as much support around her as we can moving forward. Fa'amu has trained consistently hard this season and that work ethic bodes well for her rehabilitation."
Ioane will meet with specialists early next week to discuss potential surgery and a rehabilitation plan moving forward.
The Stars are fifth on the Premiership table and unlikely to make the play-offs.
-RNZ
