Cruel blow for Molineux as scans confirm ACL injury

Sophie Molineux’s hopes of returning to the national side have been dealt a cruel blow after scans confirmed she ruptured her ACL during Sunday’s Melbourne derby defeat to the Stars at Junction Oval.

Molineux’s left knee buckled and she fell while bowling during the final over of the match, the left-arm spinner immediately clutching the joint and appearing distressed as she was assisted from the ground.

One of those supporting her as she left the field was Renegades teammate and close friend Georgia Wareham, who ruptured her own ACL during WBBL|07 and has only recently started bowling again ahead of an anticipated return to play in January.

Molineux underwent scans on Monday which confirmed what she and her teammates had feared. 

It is a particularly cruel blow given Molineux only recently returned from an eight-month period on the sidelines due to a stress fracture in her foot.

The Renegades did not provide a timeline on Molineux’s recovery, but ACL injuries can take many months and even up to a year to fully recover.

It means the allrounder will miss the remainder of the Australian summer and any chance of breaking back in the Australian squad for upcoming series against India and Pakistan, as well as the 2023 T20 World Cup in South Africa.

It will also keep her out of the rest of the domestic 50-over season, where she has been leading Victoria since taking over the captaincy from Meg Lanning.

"Our thoughts are with Sophie, and we will do everything we can to support her now and through her recovery period," Melbourne Renegades General Manager, James Rosengarten, said.

"Sophie had put in a power of work over the winter to return from her foot injury and has been a fantastic leader for our team this season.

"We know Sophie will bounce back from this latest setback and we’ll be there with her every step of the way."

This injury is the latest serious setback for the talented 24-year-old, who made her international debut during Australia’s tour of India in March 2018.

She missed the Ashes and 50-over World Cup earlier this year after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot late last WBBL season.

During her eight-month period on the sidelines she lost her Cricket Australia contract and a longer-than-expected recovery ruled her out of contention for the Commonwealth Games.

Molineux finally returned via The Hundred in August and then made a promising start to the domestic season in Australia, scoring her first one-day century for Victoria.

She also sat out a significant chunk of cricket in 2019 after dislocating her shoulder during a training mishap, missing series against New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka.

Molineux, Wareham and Tayla Vlaeminck have all been dealt cruel hands with serious injuries since winning the 2018 T20 World Cup together in the Caribbean.

While Wareham is expected to make a comeback in January, Vlaeminck remains on the slow comeback trial from a serious foot injury that ruled her out of the Ashes and ODI World Cup at the start of the year - a repeat of the same injury that ended her 2020 T20 World Cup dreams.  

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