As the Canberra United midfield struggled to click in Saturday's 0-0 draw with Brisbane, regular midfield general Sally Shipard could only look on from the stands, a place where she will remain for at least one more game as she continues her recovery from off-season knee surgery.
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Shipard was aiming to be ready for round one but had to reset that goal last week.
''My knees are good now, it's just a matter of getting the muscles back … I ran for the first time on Monday and my quads, I have never been so stiff,'' she said.
''It was really unrealistic of me to be aiming for that game. I probably realised that on maybe Tuesday or Wednesday, which was a good little epiphany for me.''
Shipard celebrated her 25th birthday at the game, but there were no wild antics as the vice-captain concentrates on her recovery and achieving her new return date of round three against Adelaide.
''I think that's certainly a realistic target … depending on how my body recovers over the next week, and puts up with the load I expose it to. We'll see … I'm working pretty closely with the physios.''
However, coach Jitka Klimkova said it may be an extra week before the midfielder returns.
''She works hard with her recovery, so hopefully she's back in 14 days, three weeks, but we won't hurry.
''I know it's a pretty dangerous injury, so when she's really ready she can play for us.
''But you saw [world cup-winning midfielder] Ari Hingst. I thought she played very well. She did Sally's jobs and it worked.
''It takes time to co-operate in the middle, and I'm pretty confident that this three [Hingst, Caitlin Munoz and Jennifer Bisset] in the middle can be great and dominate on the field.''
Shipard said having ruled herself out of the game made it easier to watch from the sidelines, saying: ''I was quite content sitting up in the stands, to be honest. I had accepted that I won't be back playing, so I wasn't really too eager to get out there and run around, but certainly was after the match.
''It was quite inspiring to watch them and it only really provided me with more motivation to get myself better so I can get out there as soon as possible.''
