THE mounting frustration was etched on Lauren Jackson’s face all afternoon.
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Forced to watch on in the stadium named in her honour as her beloved Canberra Capitals bravely succumbed to a clinical Bendigo Spirit, Jackson’s battle with a chronic hamstring injury is clearly taking its toll.
“It’s always hard (to watch), it’s been hard for a few weeks now,” Jackson said.
“But it is what it is, I’m just out there trying to support the girls.
“It was awesome, though, I really wish I could’ve played but it was fun to see everyone out there and the support we get from the community here is amazing.
“To have a Canberra team come here and have that many people backing them is just awesome.”
MATCH REPORT: It was the tale of two halves.
Having had the last of a series of cortisone injections designed to eliminate the scar tissue that has plagued her since the WNBA season, Jackson admitted she had “no idea” when or even if she would return to the court in the near future.
“I’m here (in Albury) for this week, doing some promotions and rehabbing and training here,” Jackson said.
“It’s very much a wait-and-see thing for me now, I’m not overly confident at all because it’s been such a long process.
“To be honest, I really have no idea. In my heart I want to be back next week.
“In saying that, I’ve been out a month and a half and I’ve done absolutely nothing, so either way it’s going to be a process getting back into it.
“But it’s been frustrating for sure.”
For an hour after the 80-71 defeat to Bendigo, Jackson happily signed autographs and posed for pictures with her legion of fans both young and old.
But the Opals skipper acknowledged the Caps needed her scoring and defensive punch if they wanted to maintain a top-four spot.
“Offensively, we haven’t yet found the flow,” Jackson said.
“We’re very up and down offensively, that’s been highlighted over the past few games when we do have those droughts.
“So that’s something we need to work on, we need to get a bit more scoring power because when it dries up, it really does.”