GRACE Purcell is facing at least 12 months on the sidelines after scans revealed the talented Geelong Falcon had suffered extensive damage to her knee.
Purcell’s knee buckled in the first half of the Falcons’ loss to the Western Jets on February 26, with an MRI confirming a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, damage to her posterior cruciate ligament and medial ligament, and a fracture of her femur.
“It was near where we were on the boundary line, and she landed on it,” Falcons coach Paul Corrigan said.
“You see it so many times throughout a game, and it was just an unfortunate way that she landed.
“She screamed a bit because of the initial pain, which suggested something had happened.”
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Serious knee injuries are no stranger to the Purcell family, with Grace’s older sister, Melbourne AFLW star Olivia, suffering a ruptured ACL while playing with Geelong exactly 12 months earlier.
“It’s shattering for her; her start to the year had been sensational,” Corrigan said.
“She had grown and grown through the pre-season, and in the matches, she came out and played forward for us and through the middle, and was super consistent in all of the games that she played and started to get some recognition.
“We’ll keep working with her now; get the surgery done and take her rehab from there.
“We’ll keep supporting her along the way.”
Corrigan believes Purcell, who averaged 20 disposals through the opening five rounds, was putting herself into AFLW Draft calculations.
“She’s got a natural ability with footy,” Corrigan said. “She’s super competitive; her workrate is second-to-none around the ground.
“She knows how to find the footy. She’s also got a good defensive mindset to her game, too.
“She was building and building.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
