Fremantle's Irish recruit Aine Tighe will miss the upcoming AFLW season after scans confirmed that she has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
Tighe suffered the ACL injury during a ruck contest in the third quarter of Saturday’s match at David Grays Arena against Adelaide.
The ruck will undergo surgery on her left knee next week.
Tighe said she felt disappointed after scans confirmed she would miss the 2020 season.
“I’m disappointed to get it confirmed but it’s just one of those things in sport I guess,” Tighe said.
“The club has been great in giving me the support and helping me work out the logistics of everything.
“The plan is to stay here (in Australia) for the rest of the season, it’s been such an enjoyable experience so far and the girls have been fantastic.
“Hopefully, we’ll get on the road to recovery as soon as possible.”
AFLW manager Darryn Fry said it was disappointing news for Tighe after being recruited from Ireland through the CrossCoders program.
“Aine was really looking forward to making her mark on the 2020 AFLW season,” Fry said.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that she will have to sit out the season, after arriving from Ireland in October of last year.
"Aine had made a seamless transition to an AFLW pre-season and the Fremantle Football Club more broadly.
“We will support Aine through her rehabilitation process and hope to see her playing AFLW football for Fremantle in 2021.”
