BADMINTON'S 'golden girl' Carolina Marín was due to go under knife this morning (Tuesday) after crashing out mid-match at the Indonesia Masters final when she was 10-4 up against India's Saina Nehwal.
The Huelva-born three-times world champion's worst fears were confirmed yesterday (Monday), a day after her shock exit from what looked set to be a relatively comfortable victory and her first title of 2019 – not only did she need surgery, but will now have to hang up her racquet for at least six months.
Olympic gold medallist and four-times European champion Carolina, 26, was lying contorted on the court on Sunday after collapsing in extreme pain, struggling to hold back tears, before limping off with the help of on-site medics.
A scan has since shown she has broken a ligament in the back of her right knee.
Widely considered Spain's best female badminton player in living memory, if not the best in the world, Carolina's new year has not got off to a great start – this is her second tournament, and second title of the year, and could well be her last as she will need to rest completely, then undergo physio and start retraining to reach her current level of fitness and play – a process that could well take longer than the estimated six-month recovery time her injury will require.
Last night, before heading to Madrid's Clínica Centro for surgery, the Andalucía prodigy tweeted, in Spanish and English: “Time to be ready for the hardest battle, but I have no doubts that I'll be back stronger.”
