Wellington Phoenix have confirmed striker Sabitra ‘Samba’ Bhandari will miss the rest of the Ninja A-League season after rupturing the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in her right knee.
The Nepalese striker suffered the injury in the second half of Wellington’s Round 11 clash with Brisbane Roar last weekend following a collision with goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln.
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Both club and player’s worst fears were then confirmed on Wednesday with a subsequent MRI scan revealing the 28-year-old suffered a rupture of the ACL graft in her right knee.
Re-injuring the same knee of which she had an ACL operation on in 2021, the Nepalese icon will now be sidelined for between nine and 12 months.
“I know the team are absolutely devastated for her and I was devastated in helping deliver that news,” said Phoenix head coach Bev Priestman.
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“First and foremost we recruited an unbelievable human. Samba’s probably the most popular player in the team.
“The team love her and adore her so whenever you get a season-ending injury the first place you go as a human being is the person.
She continued: “I feel gutted for her, but I’ve seen the hunger in her eyes. We’ve got her for two seasons and she’s like ‘get me back as quick as I can get back’.
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“I’ve had 24 hours now to process the news and as you’ve seen with the injuries we have had, players have stepped up.
“Sometimes these things are thrown at you to test you and test the character of the group.
“Last time we were thrown this before Melbourne Victory and I’m hoping that the group really step up and they’ll want to get a result and a performance for Samba.”
Samba becomes the third Wellington Phoenix to suffer an ACL injury this season after Dutch import Tessel Middag and midfielder Alyssa Whinham were both ruled out for the season.
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As such, Priestman has confirmed Wellington will now be in the market for an injury replacement to cover the loss of their in-form striker.
The search for a new striker though will be limited, with Wellington only able to sign free agents given the Ninja A-League’s registration window has now closed.
“It might be slimmer pickings than just an open window but we need to try to find another forward, and we will.
“We want to get a forward across the line very quickly.”
It’s not all bad news for the Phoenix though, with the club confirming the signing of American forward Makala Woods before the December 29 registration cutoff.
