Rebecca Henderson Ruptured Ankle Ligament Ahead of Australian National XC Championships
Rebecca Henderson has shared that she has a complete rupture of the ATFL in her ankle and a partial tear of the anterior deltoid ligament after a small and slow speed crash before Nationals in Awaba. Impressively, Henderson was able to secure third place at the Australian National XC Championships and third place at the Oceania Cycling Championships 2024, despite revealing that walking and moving freely are a "bit of a battle."
Henderson won the World Cup season opener last time it was in Petrópolis, Brazil and went on to finish second in the 2022 overall World Cup standings. The season kicks off once again in Brazil this year, with races April 12-14 in Mairiporã, Brazil and April 19-21 in Araxá, Brazil.
 | Every summer there are just 2 races I am always trying to bring my A game. National and Oceania Championships. They are also the races we were using to be ready for the opening World Cup's which are coming up early April in Brazil. Last Thursday after arriving to Awaba for Nationals I had a very small and low speed crash. As far as we can imagine it was simply just how I pulled my foot out of the pedal. Before I even touched the ground I was in such pain. Instant swelling. Nausea, dizziness and ringing ears just from the intense pain. Getting out of the forest was a challenge that I'm not sure I could have done alone!! Not ideal timing for the two important races of the summer or ahead of the big races but onward we go. Fortunately all advice from the best we know both in Aus and Spain has been optimisic and in line, so I'm on my way back to Canberra and we will start the rehab and play it day by day. The ankle update: Complete rupture (grade 3) injuries of the ATFL and the calcaneal attachment of the CFL. The PTFL is intact. Contusion related partial tear (grade 2) of the anterior deltoid ligament with a sprain demonstrated elsewhere. With good taping and support riding my bike is surprisingly relatively pain free but walking and moving freely is still a bit of a battle. Yesterday at Oceania's I just couldn't ask more from my body. My ankle was quite OK but my feelings on the bike and in general have taken a beating. I gave the best with what I had, but what I had wasn't much. The old girl feels like she's aged another 30 years, send help. |
We wish Henderson all the best with her recovery.
Scroll through to the last image to see the brusied ankle.
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anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL)
calcaneo-fibular ligament (CFL)
Posterior talofibular ligament (PTFL)
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