Evering completes 'hot' surgery

Fort Lauderdale, Florida:

National netball player Kasey Evering underwent surgery on Monday in New Zealand to repair her injured left knee, in time for the start of the ANZ Netball Championships.

Evering told The Gleaner in an exclusive interview from Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday night that the operation, which lasted for two hours, was very agonising and painful.

"It was very hot," said Evering. "But a just so it goes because I need things to get back on track and start playing netball again."

Evering, who is currently representing Canterbury Tactix in the ANZ Championships, which is played in Australia and New Zealand, re-aggravated her knee injury during a collision with her former national teammate, Carla Borrego, who plays for the Adelaide Thunderbirds, on April 3.

The towering player, who is regarded as one of the nation's best-ever defenders, added that she will be out of competition for the next six weeks.

The Tivoli Gardens player represented Jamaica at two World Netball Champion-hips (WNC), the 2006 Commonwealth Games and also at the World Youth Netball Championships in 2000. She noted that she is saddened by the fact she is unable to play in this year's WNC tournament in Singapore, but she remains confident that her teammates will do well.

"I am very disappointed that I am unable to play in this World Championship because it is always a dream of my mine to play in this big event," said the 28-year-old Evering, who was a member of the Sunshine Girls team which finished fourth at the last Commonwealth Games, held in India in 2010.

"However, I wish the team all the best and I hope that they will do well and make Jamaica proud," Evering said.

She last represented Jamaica in January against the defending world champions, Australia. That series ended in a 1-1 draw.

- R.B.