Kate Sheahan's AFL Women's dream is almost certainly over after scans confirmed the Collingwood forward has ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament.
Sheahan was barely into her debut for the Magpies against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night when her left leg buckled under her as she attempted a quick change of direction.
Scans on Monday confirmed the worst-case scenario for the 35-year-old, who will undergo reconstructive surgery.
"I felt like someone had grabbed a cricket bat and smashed the side of my leg," Sheahan told SEN Breakfast before receiving the scan results on Monday.
"It just snapped. It felt like I'd broken my leg."
Despite being carried off Whitten Oval in severe pain, the daughter of respected AFL journalist Mike Sheahan said she would do it again.
"I'd break a leg and do everything else just to get that game," said Sheahan, who works as a tennis coach.
She was realistic about her chances of playing again if she required a knee reconstruction.
"I would love to go around again but the reality of the situation is I'm 35, I'm clearly injury prone. Who's going to take me?" she said.
Sheahan had missed the first three matches of the inaugural AFLW season with a finger tendon injury.
Watching from the crowd, her father Mike said he now understood the full impact of injuries to players and their families.
"I was more nervous at the football Saturday than I'd been at any game I'd covered because there was blood involved," he said.
"One of mine was out there playing, and just that involvement - I was genuinely nervous before the game."
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