Pulse lose Brown before netball opener

Mar 23, 2016 - 10:04 PM A knee injury has forced experienced Central Pulse shooter Jodi Brown to end her career just a week before the start of the trans-Tasman netball season.

The 34-year-old New Zealand international damaged her right knee at the pre-season warm-up tournament for the Wellington-based side in Sydney on Sunday.

Scans this week revealed she had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament as well as suffering a grade two tear of the medial ligament.

The injury is almost identical to the one she suffered in 2006 just days before the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and can take between nine and 12 months to repair.

It's a big blow for new Pulse coach Tanya Dearns, who will need to find a last-minute replacement to complement youngster Ameliaranne Wells in the shooting circle.

Brown announced her retirement from international netball after last October's Constellation Cup four-Test series against Australia.

She played 61 Tests for the Silver Ferns since making her debut in 2003, when she was part of the Silver Ferns' world championship-winning team in Jamaica.

Brown also won silver medals at the 2007 and 2015 netball World Cups, and at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Source: AAP