Mission Queensland Firebirds captain Lauren Nourse sustained a tear to her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in Sunday's clash against the Haier Pulse and will not return for the remainder of the season.
Nourse who has led the Mission Queensland Firebirds as captain since 2010, has played an integral part in the 2011 Firebirds team, leading the team to 10 straight victories and helping to secure their first ever finals berth.
With 25 test caps under her belt, Nourse is one of Australia's top netballers and she is devastated with the news, but confident the team can still be successful in the finals.
This injury means she has also been ruled out of the upcoming Mission Foods World Netball Championships in Singapore.
Mission Queensland Firebirds Coach Roselee Jencke was upset at the news about her skipper, but was confident in the abilities of the team to rise above this.
"We are devastated at the news about Lauren and hope that she can make a speedy recovery", she said.
"It is disappointing but we need to make sure that we re-group really quickly as a team and concentrate on our match against Vixens this Thursday.
"I am very confident about my players and the make-up of the team and how close they are.
"This will give them the opportunity to step up and perform and I am confident they will".
In line with competition rules, Netball Queensland is beginning the replacement process.
