Casey Kopua's comeback from a devastating knee injury has gathered pace with the star defender warming up on court with her Magic side at the weekend for the first time this season.
Kopua took part in the Magic's warm-up drills ahead of their 63-57 win over the Southern Steel inInvercargill on Saturday, marking another important milestone in her recovery from a ruptured patella tendon she suffered during the Constellation Cup series in October last year.
At the beginning of the year Kopua said she had been told by medical staff not to get her hopes up of returning to the court during the ANZ Championship season, as it would put unnecessary pressure on her. But the recent developments are a promising sign the inspirational defender could make an appearance for the Magic this year, as she chases her ultimate goal of leading the Silver Ferns at the World Cup in August.
Kopua last week took part in a full court session with the Magic for the first time.
Off the court, the 1.88m defender continues the painstaking process of rebuilding the power and strength in the muscles supporting her repaired knee, with plyometric exercises having recently been introduced to her regime. There are days when Kopua spends up to 12 hours at the Cambridge Avantidrome high-performance training facility.
In a recent feature with Sky Sport's Netball Zone, Kopua said she made the decision from the outset to throw herself into her rehabilitation and ensure she left nothing to chance in her bid to regain her fitness in time for the World Cup.
"I'm committed to it. If I don't get selected for the World Cup or make it back to ANZ I don't want to look back and say 'oh I didn't turn up this day' or 'I should have done this'. I want to be able to say I did everything possible to be ready."
The Magic's win over the Steel lifted the Waikato-Bay of Plenty side to within one point of the Northern Mystics at the top of the New Zealand conference. The Mystics have the opportunity to restore some breathing room when they take on the Pulse in Wellington tonight in what is expected to be a competitive rematch.
In last night's results the Tactix remained winless following a 66-51 defeat to the Fever, the Firebirds beat a depleted Vixens side 55-48 while the Thunderbirds upset the Swifts 56-49.
