Perth Glory’s captain Natasha Rigby will keep playing despite having been diagnosed with a broken nose following the Western Australian team’s last A-League Women’s game against Adelaide United. The break occurred when Rigby received an elbow to the face while trying the get attacker Fiona Worts off the ball.
Natasha Rigby injury update
- The Perth Glory captain broke her nose in the last game against Adelaide United.
- She will keep on playing despite the break after receiving medical clearance.
- Since joining Glory in 2016, she has played for the club in every match bar two her rookie season.
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After the elbow, Adelaide’s forward Worts was cautioned for the action. Rigby was left with a bloodied nose. Despite the injury, which was confirmed to be a break after scans done on Tuesday, the Glory captain finished out the game.
This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Rigby’s career since her debut for Perth in 2016. The tenacious defender has appeared in every game of the last five seasons, including this year, and was used in all games but two her rookie campaign.
Glory Head Coach Alex Epakis spoke to The Women’s Game about Rigby’s injury ahead of Perth’s midweek game against Canberra United:
“With the elbow that she got there in play, it the did break her nose. It was a pretty significant break given that the elbow had a bit of force behind it.
“For those that know Tash, she is unbelievably strong and she is very brave.
“Medically she is cleared to play and she wants to play so she will play.
“Tash is really brave, she is a really strong player,” Epakis added, “She does have a break in the nose.
“I think she is going to wear a protective mask but its difficult to be telling her she is not playing.
“She doesn’t take that.”
Rigby likewise spoke to The Women’s Game about her injury, stating that the break was fine when running.
“Only a small break. I just have to wear my funky little Voldemort mask for protection during the game!” joked the stoic defender who provided a picture of her new acquisition.
Perth Glory won their two opening round games of this season before having their next two December matches postponed due to Western Australian border restrictions.
They returned to play against Adelaide United last weekend, a match which started a one month road trip away from the state. They are next scheduled to play this evening, in their postponed Round 3 game against Canberra United.
While their latest game finished in a 4-2 defeat, ending Glory’s unbeaten opening run, they remain fifth in the A-League Women despite having one to two games in hand compared to all other clubs but Canberra.
Pursuant to Epakis’ statement about his captain’s persistence, one would expect Rigby to be in the starting line-up this season.
She has played every minute of Perth’s 2021-22 campaign so far, again despite having suffered a bone fracture mid-match in the last game. Rigby has twice prior had an iron-woman A-League season, where she played every minute of the campaign, in 2017-18 and 2020-21.
With the help of a Voldemort mask, it appears that even a nose break isn’t enough to stop Rigby from captaining her side and possibly accomplishing a perfect appearance season for a third time.
The full A-League Women’s schedule can be found using this link.
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