JOVY Prado has been ruled out for the rest of the 2023 PVL Invitational Conference with an ACL tear.
After being stretchered off the court in PLDT's penultimate prelims match against Creamline, Prado was able to return to the bench but no longer saw action.
READ: Jovy Prado sidelined after awkward fall
Prado's injury status was confirmed by the squad in an official statement on Tuesday, shortly before the High Speed Hitters' knockout match versus Chery Tiggo.
"It was confirmed to Jovy Prado and the PLDT High Speed Hitters team and management that she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear following a bad landing during our game versus the Cool Smashers on Tuesday," the club said.
In the second set of PLDT's straight-sets loss to Creamline, Prado got hurt in an awkward fall but somehow was able to walk back to the team bench in time for the final set.
But PLDT coach Rald Ricafort already casted doubts on Prado's availability in the team's must-win match against Chery Tiggo.
“[Left] knee injury ‘yung kay Jovy [Prado] eh. Wala pang final assessment pero sa lagay niya ngayon, for sure ‘yung Tuesday medyo malabo na,” Ricafort said.
For teammate Kath Arado, the injured winger continues to be an inspiration for the rest of the team moving forward.
"Tuwang-tuwa kami kasi hindi naman kami napanghinaan ng loob kahit ‘yung nangyari nung last game. Motivated pa rin ‘yung mga players, lalo na ako, after nung nangyari kay ate Jovy,” Arado said.
“Grabe kasi ‘yung motivation ni ate [Jovy] kahit nasa labas siya. Gina-guide niya pa rin ako, gina-guide niya ‘yung bawat isa kaya parang hindi siya nawawala sa loob ng court,” she added.
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