Perth Glory utility Jamie Harnwell will be sidelined for the next two months after tearing the medial collateral ligament in his left knee against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Harnwell incurred the injury late in the second half of the Glory’s impressive 4-2 win over the Roar when he challenged Brisbane defender Bob Malcolm for a loose ball.
However, Harnwell didn’t experience much pain at the time and continued to play.
He was only substituted in the 59th minute for tactical reasons.
“We didn’t really expect it to be this bad because there was no pain and the knee didn’t appear to have too much extra movement in it,” Harnwell said.
“I knew something wasn’t right after the tackle had been made but there weren’t any telltale signs (that) said I should stop and I felt quite confident I could play on.”
“It was a bit of (a) shock when I was told by the physio this morning (the extent of the damage to the knee).”
“I didn’t expect to get the diagnosis that came through and I was really disappointed.”
“It has been the worst run of my career in terms of injury and the most frustrating thing is they have been freak injuries which have had nothing to do with my conditioning.”
Harnwell has taken confidence from the way team-mate Jamie Coyne has recovered from a similar injury sustained in Round 1.
“‘Coyney’ was running pretty quickly and I’m hopeful of being able to do that as well so I don’t get too far behind in my fitness. The straight line stuff isn’t an issue,” Harnwell said.
“The most frustrating part is that I did so much work to get back into the team and now I’ll just have to focus ahead eight weeks and do it all again.”
“I guess there is some consolation in the fact that there are more games this season and I can come back with still plenty to play.”
“However, I wanted to be in a position where I was out there helping the team make the finals, not watching from the sidelines.”
Meanwhile, Adelaide youngster Joe Costa could miss the rest of the season after suffering a suspected torn anterior cruciate ligament in United’s National Youth League match against Melbourne on the weekend.
