Corowa-Rutherglen midcourt player Olivia Sinclair is coming to terms with the fact she won't be rejoining the Roos on court this season following a devastating Achilles injury.
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Scans this week revealed Sinclair will require surgery after rupturing her Achilles tendon during the third quarter of the Ovens and Murray's interleague clash against the Goulburn Valley League in Mooroopna on Saturday.
"All I did was take off really innocently and it was just like a gun shot had gone off," Sinclair said.
"I thought I had ripped out the bottom of my shoe, but when I went to stand up I thought I can't do this.
"The pain wasn't too bad, but I knew in my gut that I had done something pretty bad.
"I said to the physio instantly it's my Achilles, I just knew."
It's a major blow to the Roos' campaign, with the side currently sitting undefeated at the top.
After losing the 2019 flag to Wangaratta, missing the 2020 season and finishing minor premiers last year with finals abandoned due to Covid, the Roos' co-captain will now be forced to rejoin the sidelines.
"For me, there's nothing I want more than to win an A-grade flag, and I know I won't be there to do that for the rest of the year, but certainly the team can still do it," Sinclair said.
"We don't deserve to win it yet, but we have earnt the right to think that we can go all the way.
"I'll still be there to make sure I get them through."
Following surgery next Monday, Sinclair will commence rehab in the hopes of returning for the Roos in round one of the 2023 season.
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But the 24-year-old has extra incentive for her recovery as she waits to marry her fiance, Myrtleford footballer Anthony La Spina, later this year.
"That's part of my motivation too because I would really love to be able to walk down the aisle in heels," she said.
"That and netball are pretty good motivators to do the rehab well."
Sinclair underwent a shoulder reconstruction in 2020, but admitted her next six to nine months of rehab could be an entirely different game.
"That (shoulder) was pretty rigorous rehab, but I know this is going to be a different kettle of fish," she said.
Sinclair said she has received overwhelming support from the Ovens and Murray community.
"Because it was an interleague game I feel like people feel sorry for me even more," she said.
"When it happened I didn't feel sick for myself, it was more that I felt sick for Georgie (Bruce), Grace (Senior) and Soph (Hanrahan) who were there with me. If it was one of them I would be gutted.
"That's almost the hardest part, obviously it's out of my control, but you just feel like you've let people down.
"There's people breaking for you and I just hate that feeling.
"At the end of the day I'm super lucky that I'm fit and healthy and I'll be fine."
Sinclair joins Wangaratta's Amanda Umanski on the sidelines after she suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this year.
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