Lauren Jackson’s return to basketball may be over after the Australian star suffered an Achilles injury during a tribute game last weekend.
The game between Southside Flyers and Sydney Flames was being played in honor of Jackson, who is set to retire at the end of the WNBL season. In front of a WNBL-record 7,681 fans, Jackson collided with Flames forward Jocelyn Willoughby and had to exit the court just 62 seconds into the game. She later reappeared on crutches.
“The great news is that it’s not my broken foot, it’s the other one,” Jackson joked of the injury.
The Hall of Famer had un-retired at 40 years old last February to play for the Albury Wodonga Bandits, six years after her last professional game.
“For me, I said I was on borrowed time,” she continued. “It’s hard, the way that I feel right now, I don’t know. I’m pretty tough, but when I felt it, I felt something pop. I was just standing there, I said to the referee that I can’t actually walk.
“As soon as I felt it pop, I was like oh my god, that’s my day over. I went to try and walk and I couldn’t. The poor ref, she said she can’t stop the game, I said that’s fine, but I can’t actually move so I don’t know what to do.”
On Thursday, the…
