MELBOURNE'S win over the Western Bulldogs on Friday night has been soured by confirmation that forward Ainslie Kemp has ruptured the ACL in her 'good' left knee.
Kemp went down with the injury in the final moments of the undefeated Demons' 20-point NAB AFL Women's win over the Bulldogs at VU Whitten Oval.
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She left the field in distress, assisted by trainers, and was wearing a knee brace after the game.
Scans on Saturday confirmed she had damaged the ACL in her left knee, as well as injuring the medial ligament.
Her absence adds to the Dees' long injury list, which already includes All-Australian ruck Lauren Pearce (knee), midfielder Lily Mithen (ankle) and forward recruit Jackie Parry (hamstring). The latter trio is expected to return as the season progresses.
Remarkably, Kemp was already playing without an anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee after injuring it a second time during the 2019 VFLW season.
She told the club's website in December that avoiding a traditional reconstruction had fast-tracked her return to playing.
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"What can happen is it can reform in a way," she said.
"Obviously it won't be as strong and as good as a normal ACL, but I haven't really had an issue with it over the last six months that I've been rehabbing, so I'll just kind of see how it goes and hopefully it works out well."
Unfortunately for Kemp and the Demons, it was her undamaged left knee that gave way on Friday night and she is facing another long stint on the sidelines.
The 22-year-old has played just 10 games in the first four seasons of the AFLW competition.
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