Déise camogie defender Vikki Falconer is determined to return to inter county action next summer.
The All Star nominee suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in last month's All Ireland final loss to Cork at Croke Park. She will undergo surgery next week.
"They're saying nine to twelve months," she told WLR's Lár Na Páirce show. "I'm getting the operation on Tuesday. That's the thing about the ACL, it's the recovery. I'm able to walk around now at the moment, which is the weird thing. The recovery time is the worst. Hopefully, I'll be back playing next summer. It all depends on how everything goes and the work I put in myself. It's going to be a long road but I'll be busy trying to meet those benchmarks along the way and hopefully, I'll get back right by next May or June."
Falconer was carried off the field after just five minutes. "It was a short lived experience. I went to run and turn. I went one way and the knee went the other way. I knew straight away that my time on the pitch was done. Heartbreaking is all I can say. After that, the whole thing bypassed me. I couldn't really believe it. The result didn't go our way either. Everything that we planned, it just completely shifted. We know that's not us. That's what we're most disappointed about. We beat Cork two months previous when they had, more or less, the same team. I don't know what happened on the day but I think we all know that wasn't the Waterford camogie team we have been all year."
Falconer was over the moon to receive her first All Star nomination on Monday morning. The Tramore corner back is one of nine Waterford players in contention for the prestigious awards. She was teaching in the Mercy Secondary School when the news broke. "I was in work and the phone started buzzing behind me! I didn't know what was happening! It's an absolute honour to get nominated for an All Star. It's brilliant for Waterford camogie."
Listen back to the full interview from Friday's Lár Na Páirce show.
