Angela Marino dislocates her elbow.

Former local player Angela Marino had a serious injury.

The Advertiser has the article here...

We wish her all the best and hope she gets back to form soon enough. Doesn't sound like she will be back this season though.




Written by BOTI NAGY, Picture by RAY TITUS

ANGELA Marino knew she had seriously damaged her elbow the moment she crashed into the unforgiving Bendigo Stadium floor midway through the second quarter on Friday.

As if the WNBL clash with the Spirit wasn't already the biggest fixture of the regular season, it took on a further emotional dimension as Marino writhed on the floor, teammates and medicos converging around her.

"Initially it just felt weird," Marino said of the seconds after the impact.

"Sam (Woosnam) came over and was saying: 'It will be OK' and then I looked at it and saw my elbow was out of its socket. That was fairly shocking and then the pain and my racing mind took over.

"I was thinking: 'I'll never play again' and thinking of all the bad things, such as when Brad Hill did his arm."

The Spirit's medical team was all over it in a matter of seconds, Marino briskly whisked to Bendigo Hospital.

"Their physios, all the people were so amazing," she said. "If it had to happen and didn't happen in Adelaide, I'm lucky it happened there and very grateful for how they looked after me."

From fearing the worst - and hearing in hospital her Lightning had valiantly gone down 86-89 after Bendigo import Chelsea Aubry sank a three-pointer on the buzzer - Marino's thoughts swung to how much training the injury might cost her.

"After having morphine I was thinking: 'Yep, I'm ready to play' and asking how much time off training I'd need," she said. "They told me it was a serious traumatic injury and I certainly would not be playing on Sunday."

Adelaide came out with Mia Newley taking over point duties and got past Dandenong 74-66 on Sunday at Brett Maher Court. But with Marino suffering her dislocated elbow, she could be out for as many as six weeks.

That assuredly rules out playing against Townsville in Saturday's WNBL-NBL double-header at the BMC and a game on which the Lightning's flimsy finals hopes now squarely rest. Lose and they're done, win and they still need other results to also fall their way. It's a perilous road.

Marino had an MRI to check for any minor fractures or bone chipping and will not know until tomorrow how long the healing time will be.

"After the elbow dislocated, it popped back into the joint," she said.

"I'm pretty sure there's no bone fractures so it's about getting the swelling down and keeping it in the sling.

"It's six-to-eight weeks if it's really, really bad but if it's not, I'll do everything in my power to get back."

Adelaide desperately needs her.