Alby Kelly-Heald will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season.
The young Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper dislocated his shoulder at training earlier this month and didn’t travel to Sydney for the round 23 match against the Sky Blues.
An MRI has since revealed a torn labrum in his left shoulder which requires surgery, cutting short his breakout season.
Kelly-Heald, 20, made eight successive starts from when he made his A-League debut in January and kept two clean sheets.
“Obviously I’m very gutted,” Kelly-Heald said. “When you start playing you see yourself continuing to play the rest of the season. You don’t anticipate any big injuries or anything like this.
“I’m disappointed I can’t finish the season off with the team, but I’ll be supporting on the sideline.”
Kelly-Heald is determined “to come back fitter and stronger” and remains hopeful of returning in time for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile in September and October.
“If everything goes perfectly, there are no hiccups and we can get everything done really quickly I think there is a chance.
“It’s obviously not a high chance, but I think there’s still a slither.
“The rehab process now is strengthening it up until I get surgery and then post-surgery I’ll be looking at something around six months or so. I’ll be aiming for a bit quicker.
“Hopefully it’s not too tough on the mind as well as it is physically.”
Head coach Giancarlo Italiano feels for Kelly-Heald and the team.
“I’m disappointed for Alby on a personal note because he’s done a lot of hard work to get the number one spot,” Italiano said.
“It’s also disappointing for the team dynamic because since he’s come in he’s given us a lot of security.
“But once he’s had surgery he’ll be back in no time and it’s just a small little bump in his career.”
Italiano also has faith in Josh Oluwayemi and Dublin Boon to step up in Kelly-Heald’s absence.
“We saw Joshy step up against Sydney, which was good.
“He was ready for his opportunity and Dubs will do a good job as an understudy.”
