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10th October 2024
05:05pm BST
Shamrock Rovers manager Collie O'Neill has said Savannah McCarthy is lucky to be alive after being seriously injured in a car crash earlier this week.
The 27-year-old was involved in a two-vehicle collision on the N69 at Glin, near Limerick, shortly before 8pm on 6 October.
She was taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment and is still recovering in hospital.
The Hoops defender was one of three people injured in the crash, and locals reported that McCarthy had to be pulled from the damaged car by locals after it went on fire.
McCarthy, who made her Ireland debut in 2016 and has earned 10 caps, missed the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup due to injury.
She played for Shamrock Rovers this season after stints with Cork City and Galway United.
Collie O'Neill, her coach at Rovers, has now revealed that she will require several operations and undergo a long rehabilitation before getting back on the football pitch.
"I spoke to her yesterday, she's obviously not in a good place at this moment in time," said O'Neill. "She has suffered extensive leg injuries and she is lucky to be alive, but Sav being Sav she is being positive and saying, 'What's next, how do I get back, what do I need to do?'.
"So our medical department is trying to get in touch with the medical department in Limerick to see what we can do to try and help. It was a shock for everyone, it is a close group here and it was pretty hard for people to hear.
"It's one of those things, you always think football is everything but at times it's not, it comes second, and all we can do is hope that she gets a good, speedy recovery."
He continued: "It's too early to tell when she'll be back. She has to go through some more operations and it's only when all the operations are finished that we'll be able to look at recovery time then."
McCarthy's team-mate Stephanie Zambra spoke on behalf of Rovers' players, and said: "We just want to make sure Sav is okay," said Zambra. "There's a lot going around in the media that I think is speculation, which I don't like to see.
"Sav is one of the best team-mates I've ever had, she's a lovely, lovely person, and I just hope she's okay. The last we've heard is that she's recovering and she'll be OK."
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