‘See how it goes’: Jackson to delay retirement call as scans confirm partial Achilles tear

Lauren Jackson’s WNBL season is over after scans confirmed a partial tear to her right Achilles, but she will wait to see how her recovery goes before deciding if she will retire from basketball.

Jackson went down with an Achilles injury in the opening minutes as her Southside Flyers set a new WNBL crowd record on Saturday night with 7681 fans watching them lose 68-67 to Sydney Flames at John Cain Arena.

Lauren Jackson leaves with an injury.Credit: Getty Images

But the 41-year-old had better than expected news following scans on Sunday, which showed only a partial tear in her right Achilles, rather than a full rupture as had initially been feared.

Jackson won’t need surgery on her Achilles but will need an operation on the fractured left foot she has been playing on since December.

She said in a statement on Sunday that she would have the surgery and see how she recovers before deciding whether she might play on.

“I was always waiting to see how the surgery on my fractured foot in the off-season goes before making a decision on my future,” Jackson said.

“That is still my plan, to wait and see how I recover from this injury and the surgery on my foot, before I look at my future.

“While my season is over, I will continue to be part of the team and help where I can, to ensure we continue to work to earn the success we are capable of. I’m very, very proud to be a Flyer.”

Jackson, who works as head of women’s basketball for Basketball Australia, urged the governing body and WNBL clubs to keep being “brave” and seeking out opportunities to grow the league following the success of the league’s first game at John Cain Arena.

“You’ve got to take risks to take that next step and evolve and grow,” Jackson said.

“As a league, we are doing that and as a team in the league, Southside Flyers are trying to push those barriers and set the standard and that is what we did tonight. Gerry [Ryan] and our whole team should be proud of what we could do to bring that crowd out tonight.”

The previous record of 7500 was set by the Adelaide Lightning against the Melbourne Tigers in the 1995 grand final in Adelaide. The Ryan-owned Flyers play their regular home games at the 3200-seat State Basketball Centre.

Flames guard Tiana Mangakahia (25 points) topped off a best-on-court performance with the go-ahead free throw with two seconds to go, the Flyers had a last-gasp shot from Kayla Thornton roll off the basket as time expired.

The fans came to celebrate Jackson’s fairytale comeback, in which she has led the Australian Opals to a bronze medal at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Sydney last year along with taking her hometown Albury-Wodonga team to the NBL1 East title.

“I always knew I was on borrowed time,” Jackson said after the game.

The match was played in front of a record crowd for the WNBL.Credit: Getty Images

This campaign, Jackson had played a key role in 13 games for the Flyers, who remain among the title contenders with four games and three rounds left in their season.

Jackson heard a pop when the injury occurred and couldn’t put any weight on her leg after the game.

“No one could have scripted this last year. It has been completely insane and then – how ironic,” Jackson said.

“It’s really hard [to describe] the way that I feel right now. I’m pretty tough but when I felt it, I felt something pop and I said to the referee, ‘I don’t think I can walk’.”

Jackson and the Opals had big crowds attend their World Cup games in Sydney last October, but the Melbourne crowd showed its love for Jackson in this game.

“What a magnificent thing for women’s basketball in this country,” Jackson said.

“It was incredible and, off the back of the World Cup, the visibility of basketball and the profile of the sport has lifted. To have a crowd like that in Melbourne – hopefully it is just the start of games like this and it was great to prove it can be done and I’m sure every single person in this stadium really enjoyed the game.”

Jackson was hurt on the first defensive play of the game when Flames import Jocelyn Willoughby drove to the basket and appeared to bump knees with Jackson.

The 41-year-old’s leg twisted awkwardly, and she immediately signalled to the bench that she needed to come off, limping to the sideline before soon going down into the locker rooms with medical staff.

Lauren Jackson was on crutches.Credit: Getty Images

Jackson was the centre of attention on a special night for the 43-year-old league which had never played at John Cain Arena and wanted to give fans a chance to celebrate Jackson’s storied return to the court.

Her injury happened so early in the game that some supporters were still taking their seats as she was limping to the sidelines.

Around the stadium were a host of different jerseys and T-shirts from NBA superstars to those from local clubs, but most noticeable was the Jackson memorabilia, including her Opals jersey from last year’s FIBA World Cup in Sydney and the teal GOAT25 T-shirts the Flyers had made for this season.

Players from both teams were introduced and Jackson was left until last, and organisers also ran a short video of Jackson’s career while she waited in the tunnel to be introduced.

Jackson took the roars in her stride as she high-fived her teammates and coaches, at least until teammate Sara Blicavs leapt into her arms – usually the pair might exchange a chest bump but the playful Blicavs must have decided to go all out with her love for her club and Opals teammate.

In between all the cheering for Jackson, the Flyers also acknowledged forward-centre Carley Mijovic for reaching her 250th WNBL game. Mijovic is only 28 but has played in the league since her teenage years and returned to the court last season after the birth of her son.

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