Kate Lutkins has rounded off a horror opening weekend of injuries for the AFLW with confirmation that she also has a season-ending knee injury.
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The Brisbane key defender, best afield in their first grand final win, joins fellow stars Isabel Huntington and Bri Davey as high-profile anterior cruciate ligament rupture cases from the weekend's matches.
All are out for the rest of the season, with Lutkins rupturing her right ACL.
Knee reconstructions have been a major issue in the AFLW throughout its five-year history.
The latest injury report had showed ACL injuries were at their lowest in the league last year.
But having three top players go down with the dreaded ACL rupture injury at the start of the new season is a significant blow for the league.
"It's obviously difficult news for Kate and the club, and we'll rally around her to provide her with our full support during her recovery," said Lions women's football boss Breanna Brock.
"Kate's got a great support network of family and friends keeping her spirits high, and she's already looking forward to the challenges that rehabilitation will bring."
It was a costly loss to Adelaide, with the Lions also confirming on Tuesday that key forward Dakota Davidson would miss four to five weeks with a foot sprain.
GWS player Chloe Dalton suffered a shoulder injury on the weekend as well.
And in more bad news for the Bulldogs, captain Ellie Blackburn will apparently miss next weekend's game against Geelong under the league's health and safety protocols.
The Bulldogs confirmed Huntington's injury on Monday and Collingwood did the same with Davey.
Huntington had reconstructions on both knees, in 2018 and 2019, and her right knee buckled on Saturday as she changed direction in the Bulldogs' loss to Melbourne.
Scans confirmed Huntington had ruptured her right ACL graft while also suffering damage to her lateral meniscus.
Collingwood confirmed that Davey has a rupture to the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, as well as tearing her medial collateral ligament.
The 26-year-old sustained the injury late in the fourth term of Sunday's victory over Carlton.
It will be the second reconstruction Davey will undergo on her right knee, after also having surgery on it in 2018, and she will miss the rest of the season.
Australian Associated Press
