‘A gunshot’: Glasgow on remarkable recovery

By Stephanie Smarrelli 
 
Sasha Glasgow was ready to write her next chapter. 

The smooth goaler had just won a Suncorp Super Netball premiership with the West Coast Fever, before making her debut on the international stage for the England Roses. 

The next chapter of her story, or so she thought, would be to hit the court with her Melbourne Mavericks teammates in their inaugural season, a historic milestone for the club.

But just 16 days into her new venture, that chapter had to be re-written.  

THE SEASON-ENDING INJURY 

Glasgow can recall the chilling moment like it was yesterday. 

“I heard like a gunshot go off in my leg,” Glasgow recalled. 

“I looked down and my foot was not where it was meant to be.” 

During a practice match against the Lightning, the goaler launched for a rebound when her leg suddenly snapped. 

Glasgow let out a scream, silencing the Waverley Netball Centre as she went into shock, breaking both her tibia and fibula she suffered a compound fracture.  

“It sounds dramatic, but I thought my career was done. I was like, I'm going to die the pain was excruciating,” she said. 

Through the pain, there was one shining light, and it came in the form of her opponent and former teammate Courtney Bruce. 

“I needed her in the moment. Being one of my best friends she stayed with me the entire time while I was being manipulated on the court until the ambulance took me away for emergency surgery,” she said.  

Glasgow is no stranger to long-term injuries having previously gone through an ACL injury and ankle reconstruction. 

 But this has been the most mentally challenging injury she's faced.  

Glasgow was told her compound fracture was caused by stress fractures which she never experienced symptoms of. 

"I've never sat out a full season of SSN,” she said. 

"I was told if I caught the stress fractures earlier I wouldn’t be in this position. 

“I'd made a brave decision to move to the Mavericks (only) for it to be taken away from me. 

“This rehab is really hard because I feel robbed of what should have been.” 

The mental toll of her injury was so bad that Glasgow even considered something that is almost unthinkable at the age of 25 – retirement. 

“It was traumatic. It rocked me to my core. At the time I thought I’d been through so much adversity in my career and sometimes it feels like I'm always pushing a mound uphill, and I was like... I actually can't do it anymore,” she said. 

“I felt like I had completely lost all of my resilience.” 

One of the most difficult parts for Glasgow is the fact no one playing Suncorp Super Netball has ever suffered the same injury. 

“I'm the test dummy for this type of injury, we don't know what to do. We've been getting information from AFL clubs who have previous experience in this type of space, but they don't use a court,” she said. 

It was an uphill battle for Glasgow and a grueling recovery, but there was a moment where her mindset shifted and that was when she was given the green light to run. 

 “It wasn't until I started running again and I was watching the girls that I felt like my career is not done. I don't want to finish this way,” she said. 

“I want to get to 100 games of SSN, and I want to hopefully represent England again and I want to become a Maverick.” 

One of Glasgow’s biggest supporters was Mavericks teammate Lauren Moore who suffered an ACL injury during this year's pre-season tournament. 

Glasgow credits Moore for helping drive her return to court. 

“I never wanted a rehab friend but if I didn't have her, I wouldn't be as motivated as I am to play with her and come back from these awful injuries together,” she said.  

Things are improving for the Mavericks goaler. Her leg has completely healed. Now is time to build up her strength, before she can hopefully (one day) join her Mavericks teammates on court. 

BECOMING A MAVERICK 

It's bittersweet being part of the Mavericks environment for Glasgow. On one hand, she is spending time with her teammates and building that deeper connection but she still can’t fully immerse herself in the team. 

"I love being part of the environment and the girls are really supportive, but I spend a lot of time not in the environment because I rehab at an off-site facility,” she said. 

It doesn’t mean she is not enjoying being part of the journey from the sidelines though. And she is determined to be a huge support, even if it’s from her own loungeroom. 

 "It was really bittersweet because they got their first win away. I was absolutely elated screaming at the TV and crying, but then it was also really hard,” she said. 

“They sung the song for the first time and not being there I felt really sad for myself in that moment.”   

When considering the journey the Mavericks have been on in their inaugural season, while it is early days Glasgow can’t help but be optimistic for the future.  

“We've been building and growing our relationships. From where we started day one to where we are now is one of the main reasons, we are seeing more success, and this league is unpredictable, the bottom teams can knock off the top,” she said. 

“The fourth spot being elusive shows how important every win is.” 

When Glasgow steps on court in 2025, hopefully as a Maverick, she has a clear vision and one that fits perfectly with the teams desired game style. 

"I moved originally from Thunderbirds to Fever to become a goal attack and then I made the transition from goal shooter to goal attack but I felt while I was at Fever I really wanted to grow my game back at goal shooter and put myself in the best position to be able to play a game style that would help me with my international career,” she said.  

"I spoke to Tracey and had this really big trust in her game style. She wanted a moving circle, she wanted two dominant shooters, and she didn't want it to be predictable. I 100 per cent wanted to be part of that. 

“It's been a rollercoaster to see this team and vision not come to fruition but hopefully next year all of my dreams will come true."