Australian basketball great Lauren Jackson has started a worldwide search for a new Canberra Capitals teammate to lighten her WNBL workload, admitting her latest injury setback will force her to limit her court time.
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Jackson is upbeat and positive about her long-term future despite having knee surgery last month - her third operation this year - and being told to expect arthritis in her knees in the next five years.
But after rising star Carley Mijovic signed to play with the Adelaide Lightning this week, Jackson revealed she was trying to lure some of her Seattle Storm and WNBA teammates to Canberra for a cameo season.
Jackson will be the linchpin in Canberra's bid to return to the WNBL finals, but her game time will be managed after a horror run of hamstring and knee injuries.
The four-time Olympian expects to be fit for the Australian Opals' world championship campaign in September and the start of the Capitals' season in October.
"I've just got to roll with the punches,'' she said. "I don't know what to say, but I'm staying positive and I really want to finish my career out with Canberra and just enjoy it, not have to deal with injuries.
"With my body the way it is at the moment, we need another big at the Capitals - I'm not going to be playing 40 minutes a game.
"It's a shame Carley's leaving [the Capitals], I'm talking to some of my American teammates, some of them are my best friends who I haven't seen in years and it would be great to get them here to experience Australia."
Jackson had knee and Achilles tendon surgery at the start of the year to repair injuries from a playing stint in China. She was training in Albury last month when her repaired knee "just crumbled", which left her devastated.
She will spend the next four weeks on crutches and will attend the Opals' camp at the AIS next week.
But the 33-year-old is determined to get back to her best for the Opals and the Capitals, opting to take a cautious approach with her comeback to be fit for the world championships and then the WNBL season.
"I haven't missed a world championships since 1998, I'm not going to start now," Jackson said. "My goal is to be physically fit, make sure my body is ready to go. I'm not going to push myself for the [Opals warm-up tour of Europe in August], I can't rush this, especially after what I've been through.
"I'm just pushing myself to be in great, great shape for the world titles. I'm going to make sure I'm strong and healthy, and who knows, I could have the best world championships of my life.
"There's a likely chance I'll get arthritis, but not yet and everything else is good. I'm not afraid of my long-term future, but the short term with recovery and rehab again is going to be hard."
Jackson will play the next two seasons with the Capitals and is also planning on returning to the US to play with the Seattle Storm next year.
The Capitals have recruited Abby Bishop to join Jackson for the next two seasons, while young gun Stephanie Talbot has also committed to Canberra.
Mijovic and Alex Bunton have quit the Capitals to sign with Adelaide, while the club is hoping to finalise a deal with WNBL veteran Kristen Veal.
Veal teamed up with Jackson to win Canberra's first WNBL championship in 1999.
"I'd love to see her [Veal] come back and play. I'd love to compete for another championship," Jackson said.
"Kristen was the heart and soul of that team back in the early days. Hopefully we can pick up other players because we're going to need them to compete - every team is stacked and the Australian league needs foreigners.
"They can get better here and you need extra support."
