She Cranes star Proscovia sidelined with injury
Proscovia has played with bad knees for long. PHOTO: I. KEZAALA
KAMPALA. Versatile sports lady Peace Proscovia will be out of action for at least three months due to injured knees.
“The doctor told me that I got a severe tear in my ligament after undergoing an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan,” Proscovia, who stood out as Uganda’s senior women’s netball team, the She Cranes, qualified for the 2015 Netball World Cup, told Daily Monitor yesterday.
The 24-year-old has been playing with bad knees since she was hurt during the 2010 Netball World Cup qualifiers in South Africa. Although the pain was initially mild, it worsened this year. According to Proscovia, she only travelled for the World Cup qualifiers in Botswana last month because the team couldn’t do without her. “I knew my knees were in bad shape but I had to help the team make the World Cup,” she said. Shortly after the Botswana trip, Proscovia joined up with the women’s national team, the Gazelles, and helped them win the Zone V Basketball Championship at Lugogo.
The Gazelles’ performance earned them a ticket at next year’s Afrobasket Championship and All Africa Games. “When I returned from Botswana there was a high demand for me to play basketball. Unfortunately, during our game against Kenya one of their players jumped on the same injured spot causing more damage and soreness,” she noted. Her doctor had initially suggested that she could be sidelined for up to three months but Proscovia says she might be forced out of action for a longer period depending on the outcome of another MRI scan due January next year.
She Cranes team manager Jocelyn Uchanda confirmed she received Proscovia’s medical report and wrote to her coaches to exempt her from any games. She features for NIC in the netball league and plays league basketball for KCCA.
“She is a phenomenal netballer and we are going to miss her but I respect the doctor’s recommendation. We are going to give her a long break since the World Cup is still far,” Uchanda said. National basketball team manager Ahmed Hassan footed the bills for Proscovia’s MRI scan.
