Adelaide Crows AFLW superstar Erin Phillips has taken the first big steps in her comeback from a knee reconstruction
In a sight for sore Crows fans’ eyes, inspirational leader and captain Erin Phillips has returned to running as she recovers from a knee reconstruction that last year threatened to end her career.
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Rejoice Crows fans: Erin Phillips has had her first run on grass as she continues to recover from a knee reconstruction.
As her teammates cheered her on, Phillips ran short jogs along the Crows West Lakes oval at training on Monday night and on Thursday will join the main group.
It is a significant step towards playing in 2020.
Phillips is one of three Adelaide AFLW players that is a legitimate chance of playing football in 2020 after tearing ACLs in 2019, alongside ruck Rhiannon Metcalfe and forward Chloe Scheer.
Crows coach Matthew Clarke said all three players were gradually reintegrating into non-contact drills.
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“On any given night, we’ve seen a bit of Chloe and a little bit of Rhi and now a little bit of Erin showing up in some of those non-contact drills,” he said.
“And obviously they’re also doing a lot of other work with the high performance team to make the progressions to get back.”
Phillips tore the ACL in her left knee late in the second half of the 2019 AFLW grand final against Carlton on March 31.
Late in the third quarter, Phillips was running into the Crows’ forward-50, chasing the Blues’ Nicola Stevens when her knee gave way.
Until then, she had been dominant in the midfield, collecting 18 disposals and kicking two goal.
The Crows won the grand final convincingly 10.3 (63) to the Blues 2.6 (18) at Adelaide Oval and Phillips’ return to training with the full group is a huge step forward to the club’s plans for back-to-back glory.
Clarke said it was still uncertain whether Phillips, Scheer or Metcalfe would be ready for round one on February 8, in Phillips’ case further complicated by the fact that she had minor surgery on her knee late last year.
“When she had the little ‘scope prior to Christmas, I kind of thought maybe internally it would push things back, but her report from that was that it actually made things better and improved her,” Clarke said.
“Ultimately, we’ll just treat it how it needs to be treated … the knee will be ready when the knee’s ready, regardless of when the AFLW has scheduled the games.”
Clarke said injured knees had become an unfortunate narrative of the 2020 season, but it was simply the reality of the situation.
“It’s obviously been a source of disappointment for the group, but as they come back, that’s a source of excitement and joy,” he said.