WA-bred Hockeyroo Ashleigh Nelson’s Rio Olympics hopes over after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament
A SERIOUS knee injury has ended West Australian hockey star Ashleigh Nelson’s Rio Olympics hopes.
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A SERIOUS knee injury has ended West Australian Ashleigh Nelson’s Rio Olympics hopes.
The popular Hockeyroo ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament during an intra-squad training match in Perth on Tuesday, ruling her out for a significant period of time.
It’s a cruel blow for the 29-year-old, who was a part of Australia’s bronze medal triumph at the Hawke’s Bay Cup in New Zealand earlier this month.
A shattered Nelson confirmed the news on Twitter on Wednesday.
“Sadly have torn my ACL and not able to complete my Olympic dream with @Hockeyroos,” she tweeted.
“Life goes on thanks for the support.”
Nelson is one of the Hockeyroos’ most experienced players, with 205 caps including the 2012 London Olympics.
She is also a dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Sadly have torn my ACL and not able to complete my Olympic dream with @Hockeyroos .Life goes on thanks 4 the support pic.twitter.com/A3t0wySPIS
— Ashleigh Nelson (@nelson_ashleigh) April 28, 2016
Fellow Hockeyroo Georgie Parker tweeted through a message of support for her teammate.
“Absolutely devastated for my good friend and teammate whose Olympic Dream is over,” Parker tweeted.
“Sport can be so brutal.”
Coach Adam Commens described the news as “devastating”.
“It’s obviously devastating for Ash to have such a major injury this close to the Rio Olympic Games,” Commens said.
“She’s part of our leadership group, and an experienced player with over 200 internationals and to have a player of that calibre missing from our Olympic group is a significant loss.”
The World No. 3 Hockeyroos have been drawn against in Pool B at Rio against Argentina (2), Great Britain (6), USA (7), Japan (10) and India (13).
Their next tournament is the International Hockey Open in Darwin, starting at the end of next month.
It’s followed by the Champions Trophy in London from June 18-26.
The top-ranked Kookaburras will face off against Great Britain (4), Belgium (5), New Zealand (8), Spain (11) and Brazil (32) at Rio.
Their preparations include a series against Great Britain in WA next month and the Champions Trophy in June.
Originally published as WA-bred Hockeyroo Ashleigh Nelson’s Rio Olympics hopes over after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament
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