Ex-Crows AFLW forward Katelyn Rosenzweig back training four months after fracturing vertebra

A former Crows AFLW listed forward who suffered a spinal injury after an accident during an exhibition game has finally returned to training with an aim of playing again next year.

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As Katelyn Rosenzweig hit the hard turf of Alberton Oval after a marking contest, her first instinct was to get straight back up.

But as the former Crows AFLW-listed player attempted to regain her feet, she suddenly had no feeling in her legs.

The 19-year-old feared the worst as she waited for help, thinking she would never walk again.

Taken by ambulance to Royal Adelaide Hospital, she underwent numerous scans and – after 15 hours – was told she had fractured the T5 spinal vertebra.

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Now, almost four months after the accident, which occurred during the women’s exhibition “Showdown” between the Crows and Port Adelaide sides, Rosenzweig has started limited training again with Central District’s SANFLW team.

“I thought I was just winded at first, then I sort of rolled onto my belly to get up and I lost sensation and feeling in my legs,” Rosenzweig says.

“There was a lot going through my head and I was like ‘why can’t I feel my feet?’

“They wouldn’t let me get up until my results came back.

“I’ve just been slowly building, doing weights and bike work and a bit of running.

“I have to have more MRI’s and then wait for my results from that to determine if I can play football next year or not.

Katelyn Rosenzweig lands hard after the jump.

“I am definitely doing better than I was.”

The Crows selected Rosenzweig with pick 41 at last year’s AFLW draft but she failed to break into the strong line-up, partly because of an interrupted pre-season in which she had minor neck surgery.

They then delisted her in April.

She played eight SANFLW matches with the Bulldogs this season after switching from North Adelaide, where she claimed the 2018 leading goalkicker award.

Despite the setbacks, Rosenzweig says her passion for football will never die and she plans to prove she belongs on an AFL list again.

“Life goes on and there’s not much you can do about it, really,” she says.

“If I get the ‘all clear’ after my MRI, I’ll just be running and getting super-fit.

“I want to be more versatile next year and show the AFL clubs I can play more than one position.”