Allison comes through tough four months for Horizon Series

National senior netball player Gezelle Allison has described the past four months as the toughest period of her career, but says she is relieved and excited to have been selected for Jamaica’s four-match Horizon Series against England this month.

The 30-year-old suffered a broken fourth metacarpal in her right hand, forcing her to miss the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where the Sunshine Girls went on to capture the silver medal.

The goalshooter and goal attack spent three months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery to repair the injury. A metal plate and five screws were inserted to stabilise the damaged bone.

“I was out of action for three months, and the surgery went successfully, so I am very happy about that. But I actually have a plate in my hand to hold the bone because it was shattered, and I also have five screws in my hand,” said Allison.

She admitted that missing the Commonwealth Games was a major disappointment but said she is grateful for another opportunity to represent Jamaica against England.

“I am quite excited about this series based on the fact that I was out of the Commonwealth Games team due to injuries, so I am super excited that I was selected for this series for Jamaica against England,” she said.

“Based on the injury that I had, I had to start over from square one, so I have been putting in a lot of extra work on my own besides training. I have been doing gym work and all of that.”

The first two matches of the Horizon Series are scheduled for London on November 21 and 22 before the teams travel to Jamaica for the final two encounters on December 5 and 6 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

Allison, who plies her trade locally with Jamalco, is also relishing the chance to play alongside experienced goalshooter and co-captain Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, who has returned to the Sunshine Girls set-up after missing the team’s previous international assignments.

Fowler-Nembhard, who shares the captaincy with Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, has not represented Jamaica since 2023. She also recently gave birth.

Allison noted that opportunities to play alongside Fowler-Nembhard, widely regarded as one of the world’s best shooters, have been limited.

“To be amongst the overseas-based players, especially the likes of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, it is rare for me to play with her because normally they (selectors) would have gone with a shorter player. So I am excited to be a part of the team and to be there with Jhaniele because I think this is like my second time that I am going to be on a team with her,” Allison said.

Jamaica and England have shared the previous two Horizon Series titles, with the Sunshine Girls winning the inaugural competition before England captured the second edition.

Allison believes the Sunshine Girls have the strength and depth to reclaim the trophy, particularly with a full complement of players available for this month’s series.

“We won the first Horizon Series and we lost the second one, so now we want to ensure that we win back this trophy. We didn’t meet them at the Commonwealth Games when we won the silver medal, so I know that they will be coming at us this Horizon Series,” she said.

“We will have all of our players, unlike the last Horizon Series, and so I think that this squad is well rounded and strong enough to win all four matches against England in this series.”