Awful luck as Leitrim star to miss 2020 AFLW season after confirmation of another ACL injury

Fremantle’s Áine Tighe will undergo surgery next week as she stays in Australia to rehab.

by
After starring for Leitrim for years, Tighe had been impressing Down Under.Image: Fremantle Dockers AFLW.

LEITRIM STAR ÁINE Tighe’s worst fear has been realised, with confirmation of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] injury ruling her out of the 2020 Australian Football League Women’s [AFLW].

Tighe sustained a knee injury in Fremantle’s final pre-season match at the weekend, and the club confirmed this morning that scans have since revealed severe damage to her left knee and that she will miss the season, undergoing surgery next week. 

The 27-year-old was forced off after “landing awkwardly” in the third quarter of Freo’s 17-point loss to 2019 Premier champions Adeladie Crows and her head coach, Trent Cooper, said earlier this week that the injury “doesn’t look great”.

Tighe had caught the eye in leading the ruck division for Fremantle through pre-season and had been tipped to make a big impact in the Australian league before she suffered the cruel blow.

There’s extra disappointment involved, as the Kiltubrid star had only recently made a full recovery from an ACL setback.

Since undergoing cruciate surgery in June 2018, the high-scoring forward had not been involved in the Leitrim inter-county set-up but landed an AFLW deal with Fremantle through the CrossCoders programme alongside Louth star Kate Flood last May.