Melbourne City have confirmed Holly McNamara has ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee and will miss the remainder of the Liberty A-League season.
McNamara was stretchered off late in City’s 3-2 win over Newcastle Jets on Sunday evening, after going down in the immediate aftermath of scoring her second goal of the game.
The 20-year-old was played through on goal, and with Jets keeper Isobel Nino sprawling at her feet, McNamara opened up her body to squeeze the ball into the bottom right corner.
McNamara reached for her knee immediately after making impact with the turf as the ball trickled into the back of the net.
She received scans following her return to Melbourne on Monday, which confirmed a recurrence of the same injury she suffered as a 15-year-old.
The injury comes only days after earning a recall to the Matildas squad for the upcoming friendlies against Canada in December, after a roaring start to the season with City where she had scored six goals in five appearances, sitting atop the Golden Boot standings.
This is the third time McNamara has ruptured her ACL, having also sustained the same injury in her left knee in February 2022 while playing for City against Sydney FC.
She also suffered stress fractures in her feet when she was 17-years-old.
City currently sit second on the standings after five games and face Sydney in their next match on Sunday afternoon.
