Tenacious Canberra Capitals forward Keely Froling has had surgery to repair her broken nose and fractured cheek in the hope she will be fit for the WNBL finals.
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The Capitals will be without Froling and Kelsey Griffin again on Wednesday night when they play the Perth Lynx in a rescheduled clash at the National Convention Centre.
Griffin is being eased back into training after ankle and hamstring problems and coach Paul Goriss is refusing to rush the reigning most valuable player's return given a finals spot is already secured.
Griffin was expected to make her comeback last weekend, but could now being eyeing a home game on Sunday against the Sydney Flames.
Froling's return to play is still unclear after having an operation. It's believed the damage was not as bad as first thought, which could put her in contention for finals action.
The Capitals have three games left in the regular season, but a two-week international window means the semi-finals series won't start until February 18.
The extra time could be a blessing in disguise for the Capitals, who have been forced to overcome injury and player availability problems since the start of the season.
Other players have stepped up to keep the Capitals in contention for a top-two spot, which guarantees at least one finals series at home.
"A lot of teams always have adversity, but with the players [Goriss] put together we knew we had [depth] on the bench," said guard Maddison Rocci, who finished with a career-high 19 points against Southside last weekend.
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"We've got a great young bench, and with them helping us out we knew we'd be fine. The two games [last weekend] were great basketball, hopefully we can keep that mojo moving into the finals."
The Capitals are one win behind second-placed Melbourne and three wins behind the top-placed Southside Flyers.
The Adelaide Lightning is lurking in fourth just one win behind Canberra, while the Lynx are fifth and already out of finals contention.
Injuries forced personnel changes, with Alex Delaney stepping in to fill the void left by Froling and Griffin.
"I was a little nervous before the game, but once tip-off happened I knew my teammates would help me get through," Delaney said.
"It's always good to peak at the end of the season. I think we still have room to get better, which is exciting. We don't want to have any let ups, we want to keep improving."
The Capitals will play Perth, Sydney and Adelaide in the last three games of the regular season.
The clash against Perth has been rescheduled after the January 5 match was cancelled because of smoke.
The Capitals will raise money for bushfire relief at the match, donating $2 from every person in attendance.
Kia Nurse is also donating $5 for every point scored by the Capitals since January 3. The tally is up to 333 points in the past three weeks, meaning Nurse could be out of pocket $2000 by the end of the Lynx game.
WNBL ROUND 15
Wednesday: Canberra Capitals v Perth Lynx at National Convention Centre, 7pm.