WBBL: Sophie Molineux sidelined for 12 months with ACL injury

After missing one World Cup win and Commonwealth Games gold, an Aussie star has suffered the worst injury news possible.

World Cup winner Sophie Molineux’s quest to be part of Australia’s title defence in February next year is over after scans confirmed she had suffered an ACL injury to her left knee.

The Melbourne Renegades and Victorian captain injured herself while bowling the final over in Sunday’s WBBL Melbourne derby at the Junction Oval.

It’s a cruel blow for Molineux, who missed last summer’s Ashes win, the 50-over World Cup victory and Australia’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal win after suffering a stress fracture in her foot.

Molineux also lost her Cricket Australia contract because of the injury.

The 24-year-old, who danced on stage with Katy Perry after playing a key role in Australia’s T20 World Cup win in 2020, will have her rehabilitation plans confirmed over the coming days.

But she’s facing up to 12 months on the sidelines, meaning she will miss Australia’s T20 World Cup defence in South Africa in 2023.

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— Renegades WBBL (@RenegadesWBBL) November 14, 2022

“Our thoughts are with Sophie, and we will do everything we can to support her now and through her recovery period,” Melbourne Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said.

“Sophie had put in a power of work over the winter to return from her foot injury and has been a fantastic leader for our team this season. We know Sophie will bounce back from this latest setback and we’ll be there with her every step of the way.”

Before the WBBL season began, Molineux said she was in a “really positive space” after spending six months repairing a stress fracture in her foot. While she maintained ambitions of getting back into the Australian team, she didn’t want to look too far ahead.

“It’s not easy watching all those World Cups and Ashes series and Comm Games and everything, especially when you’ve been a part of it before and you’ve got a lot of close mates in that set-up,” she said.

“Of course I’d love to be back in that, but I feel like I don’t really want to think too much about stuff that I can’t control and for me it’s just … I’m not taking things for granted and making sure that I sort of do it with a smile on my face and enjoy everything that comes with the Big Bash.”

Cricket Victoria’s head of female Cricket, Sharelle McMahon said the would support Molineux through her recovery.

“It‘s disappointing for Sophie after she has worked so hard to come back from recent injuries and having such an outstanding start to the domestic season,” she said.

“Sophie continues to set the example for the rest of the squad and we have no doubt she will demonstrate that in her rehabilitation and recovery from this setback.

“We‘re right behind Sophie in her recovery, we’ll provide our full support in any way we can.”

Originally published as WBBL: Sophie Molineux sidelined for 12 months with ACL injury