Melbourne Victory midfielder Natalie Tathem will undergo surgery in the coming weeks to repair her medial ligament strain, after undergoing a thorough assessment by the club’s medical staff.
While Tathem will miss the remainder of the 2020/21 Westfield W-League season, she did receive some good news with scans revealing she avoided any meniscal damage.
The 25-year-old was sustained the injury during the first half of last Saturday’s match against Brisbane Roar and has already commenced rehabilitation on her knee in preparation for surgery.
Head Coach, Jeff Hopkins, said the team is rallying around Tathem.
“This was obviously a cruel blow for Natalie and the team. Nat had only just joined us in the pre-season, she had slotted into the squad seamlessly and had done everything required to earn her spot in the starting line-up,” Hopkins said.
“The medical advice is for Nat to have surgery in the next four to six weeks as this will provide the medial ligament time to heal. On a positive note Nat did escape any meniscal damage.
“With surgery still several weeks away, Nat will continue rehabilitation on her knee in a bid to help reduce the amount of recovery time post operation.
“Nat is a very resilient person, we are all thinking of her and I know the team and the staff will continue to support her bid to get back on the park as soon as possible.”
