Melbourne rocked by season-ending injury to AFLW superstar Tayla Harris
Harris suffered a shoulder injury during Saturday night’s season-opening win over Geelong and subsequent scans have revealed she will need surgery, AFL Media first reported.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Tayla Harris suffers worrying shoulder injury.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I’m extremely disappointed to have my season cut short,” Harris said.
“I now look forward to contributing in many ways off the field, and doing whatever I can to help us achieve our goal in 2024.
“I can’t wait to be back on the field doing what I love in 2025.”
The 27-year-old had left shoulder surgery in December and had the joint heavily strapped in the Round 1 win.
She required treatment on her already heavily strapped shoulder after an innocuous incident in the first quarter, then again after receiving a strong tackle in the third term.
Harris was hooked at three-quarter time of the two-point win for what she called “precautionary” reasons, playing down the injury after the match.
“Obviously I’ve had some shoulder issues along the way, and just another little incident, it’s round one,” Harris told the Channel 7 after the match.
“The girls are doing an awesome job, I feel like it’s an opportunity to watch the show. Yeah, today it is (precautionary).”
Harris managed her injury, then a quad issue, in pre-season but was cleared for Saturday night’s game.
When asked if the forward was “underdone” and if it was risky playing her, coach Mick Stinear said: “No, didn’t see any risk playing her.
“I think once we got the all-clear from the quad, she has done a lot of training in pre-season and having that surgery back in December, a really solid few months of rehab and a lot of skills and fundamentals.
“No, I feel like she was ready to play tonight. Probably just some unfortunate moments that she’s had a bit of a flare-up.
“But we’ll review and find out, but very comfortable with her taking the field tonight.”
- With AAP
