Wellington Phoenix suffer injury scare ahead of new A-League Women season

Women’s A-League: Wellington Melbourne City vs. Phoenix Sky Stadium in Wellington When: Sunday at 3 p.m. Live coverage on Sky Sport, with updates on Stuff.

The Wellington Phoenix were dealt an injury scare just four days before the start of the 2017 A-League Women season.

Annalie Longo, the newly chosen captain, had to leave training early on Wednesday due to an apparent injury to her left thigh.

Longo’s absence from Sunday’s season opener against Melbourne City would be a setback.

The 133-cap Football Fern was one of the Phoenix’s biggest off-season signing and was named as the team’s new captain on the same day the injury occured.

Longo was seen clutching her thigh after feeling discomfort during a session at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation at Sport.

She was reduced to a spectator role for the second half of training and watched on from a chilly bin on the sidelines.

Longo addressed the media after being named captain and attempted to minimize the severity of her injuries.

“As I’m a little bit older, I have to be a bit more cautious with things,” remarked Longo.

“I’ve come off the back of two games over in Aussie and the travel, so I’m just playing it safe and hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”

Longo was the obvious option to replace Lily Alfeld as Phoenix captain for 2023-24, according to coach Paul Temple, despite the fact that she is new to the team.

In a new-look leadership group that includes Brianna Edwards, Hope Breslin, Kate Taylor, and Rebecca Lake, the former A-League champion will be assisted by vice captains Chloe Knott and Michaela Foster.

“She’s the most experienced player that we’ve got in the team and always led by example when she’s played,” Temple said in a statement.

“She’s a player that takes the initiative in games and leads with her technical quality, gets on the ball and gives us that calmness and I thought that was really important for the squad as we have a lot of younger players.”

Mariana Speckmaier, the Phoenix’s new striker, is also questionable for round one after a rocky start to her career.

A groin injury, stomach illness, and an infected bug bite have all plagued the Venezuela international.

“She’s just running a bit behind where we wanted her to be but she’s passing all the tests and really hopeful she will be involved at the weekend,” she said.

Following back-to-back wooden spoon finishes, the Phoenix will enter the new season with considerable momentum.

Despite the absence of Speckmaier, they defeated both the Newcastle Jets and the Central Coast Mariners at a pre-season camp in Australia last week.