Ireland star 'lucky to be alive' and suffered 'extensive leg injuries' after horrific car crash says club manager
Shamrock Rovers defender Savannah McCarthy was involved in a two-car collision near the Limerick-Kerry border last weekend and an update has been given on her condition
Ireland international Savannah McCarthy is lucky to be alive after a horrific car crash, admits Shamrock Rovers boss Collie O'Neill.
The Hoops defender was one of three people injured in a two-vehicle collision near Tarbert in Limerick on Sunday night.
It was reported that the Kerry woman had to be pulled from the crash by locals after the car she was in went on fire, while two men were also injured.
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McCarthy, who has played 10 times for Ireland's senior team, and the men were taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment and O'Neill says that she will require several operations.
"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.
"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, who announced on Wednesday night that she is retiring from playing after Saturday's final WPD game between Rovers and Shels in Tallaght, expressed the players' concern for her.
"For us, as players, obviously 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."
O'Neill spoke about the influence that the 27-year-old has had on the Rovers dressing-room since she signed last year.
McCarthy won a League title with Glasgow City, won a Player of the Season award with Cork City and also spent time at Galway before joining the Hoops. She missed out on Ireland's first ever World Cup finals appearance last year due to injury.
"She's been a massive player for us, and it's not just on the pitch," said O'Neill. "You could see the difference in our form when she was out at the start of the year, recovering from a broken ankle in pre-season. When she came our form picked up.
"She's great to have around the place, she's great off the training field. She's one of those players that looks after the younger players, so she'll be a big, big loss for us."
O'Neill added that the rest of the Rovers squad will rally around their stricken team-mate.
"It's vitally important and in fairness a lot of the players are trying to reach out to her and get in touch with her but can't on her own phone because it got burned in the car crash," he said.
"So contact is minimal because you're going through family members to try to get in touch with her. The support of the team and her friends is what will help her get through it."
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