Sydney FC star Princess Ibini suffered a dislocated shoulder in Sunday’s Liberty A-League Semi-Final first leg away to Central Coast Mariners.
The injury was revealed at the start of the second half after Ibini was surprisingly seen among the substitutes, having been in the thick of the action against the Mariners in Gosford.
Network 10 reporter Ben Homer said the Matildas forward was able to pop her shoulder back into place as she was running in the first half before succumbing to the injury at Industree Group Stadium.
“Big news… Princess Ibini has dislocated her shoulder, the Sydney FC captain,” Homer said.
“It’s the third time she has done it in her career.
“She was able to pop it back in in the first half as she was running, but that has forced her off at half-time.
“… Our understanding is that it needs to be assessed and a decision will be made (as to whether it will be a season-ending injury).”
It remains to be seen whether the injury – the third time Ibini has dislocated her shoulder in her career – will rule her out of the remainder of the Finals Series, with the Championship-winning forward needing to be assessed further.
It seems likely the incident that caused Ibini’s shoulder to dislocate occured after just 11 minutes, when she had a coming together with Mariners defender Tiarna Karambasis.
After they clashed, the Sydney FC captain stayed down holding her shoulder.
If that is the case, it means Ibini stayed on the pitch after the dislocation for more than half an hour.
Ibini has scored one goal in 22 matches this season, while she has supplied four assists for Ante Juric’s side.
