March 2024: Adriana Taranto suffers an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in Western United training.
January 2025: Adriana Taranto returns from her ACL injury, just 10 months after sustaining it.
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With players commonly needing more than a year to rehabilitate an ACL tear, Taranto has bucked the trend on a remarkable recovery timeline that, on this week’s episode of Dub Zone, A-Leagues commentator Teo Pellizzeri suggested could be of use to football’s major governing bodies when conducting research into the prevalence of ACL injuries in women’s football and how best to rehabilitate them.
“I know there are a lot of Australians at FIFA,” Pellizzeri said.
“Someone at FIFA doing ACL rehab study needs to find out every day of Adriana Taranto’s recovery. She was immense, probably the best player on the pitch for the 60 minutes she did play. That was 10 months and two days after tearing her ACL. There are players who have been out for more than 12 months, still with no estimated return.
“Every player is different, but both Taranto sisters have suffered ACL injuries in their career, Mel and Adriana, Mel’s five to six years ago, Adriana’s in the last 12 months.
Taranto and Western United are next in action in the Ninja A-League on Saturday, January 25 against third-placed Adelaide United in what could be the game of the weekend.
Taranto will look to make her fifth straight appearance since returning from her ACL tear when Western take on the Reds; the midfielder made two bench appearances before consecutive starts against Melbourne City and Glory.
