Football Ferns forward Katie Rood has confirmed she won't be available for selection for this year's women's FIFA World Cup after suffering a knee injury playing for her Scottish club.
Rood last played for New Zealand in 2021 but was due to be part of the Football Ferns' pre-World Cup training camp in Auckland.
Those plans have been scratched though with confirmation she has injured her ACL while for Hearts against Celtic.
Rood said she had "joined the ACL club" in her announcement on social media.
“I'm doing okay,” Rood said. “Obviously gutted about it.
"I had intended to return to NZ in June for a training camp to have one final crack at making the World Cup team.
"Looks like life has other plans for me... and as gutted as I am about the World Cup dream being over, I'm beginning to look forward to seeing what other opportunities are out there for me."
Rood said she had gone through "an interest process" so far.
"What’s hit me quite hard in this situation is just how many times I’ve been asked ‘is the club looking after you?’
"It’s a reminder that health care and medical treatment isn’t often the norm in the women’s game and we all know of players being left to fend for themselves after getting seriously injured with their clubs."
Rood has scored five goals in 15 appearances for the Ferns, the most recent of which came in South Korea in 2021.
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