Brisbane have confirmed the worst for young defender Lily Postlethwaite, who will now miss the remainder of the AFLW season with a ruptured ACL.
The 20-year-old suffered the injury to her right knee early in Sunday's win over the Dockers, a game that saw her return to the AFLW from a lengthy rehabilitation process from a similar injury to her left knee.
Set to meet with specialists in the coming weeks to begin another arduous path to recovery, Postlethwaite's latest blow comes as heartbreaking news for the Lions' premiership prospects.
โItโs absolutely heartbreaking news for Lily and the entire team,โ Brisbane's head of Women's football Breeanna Brock said in a club statement.
โShe left no stone unturned in her recovery from her previous injury and played out the vast majority of the recent QAFLW season, so it feels like a particularly cruel twist of fate for her season to end this way.
โThe team and the Club will rally around Lily to provide her with our full support during her recovery.โ
The Caboolture product joined the Lions as the third overall selection from the 2019 AFL Draft, making her debut the following year against the Crows in her club's season opener.
Sunday's clash with Fremantle was Postlethwaite's 12th for the Lions in three seasons, last featuring in Round 4 of the 2021 season.
