United confirms season-ending blow for new signing

NBL24 champion Sean Macdonald is set to miss the entirety of his first season with Melbourne United, as he undergoes a second ACL reconstruction.

According to the club, "as he [Macdonald] built his basketball loading in rehabilitation, it became apparent the graft in this knee was not going to tolerate a successful return to sport, leading him to seek further specialist opinion in planning for a second ACL reconstruction."

"This is obviously a disappointing result, however I'm confident this is the right decision moving forward to get me back on the court," Macdonald said.

"When I signed with United as the NRP [Nominated Replacement Player], I knew there wasn't any pressure to get back on the court quickly. It's been amazing working within this group since arriving here in Melbourne, and I'm confident the team is capable of achieving great things while I'm on the sidelines."

Macdonald first underwent surgery in August 2025, after rupturing his ACL playing for the Australian Boomers.

It's a bitter blow for the talented 26-year-old, but he's looking forward to being fully fit ahead of the club's NBL28 campaign.

"During his time in Melbourne so far, it's become clear that Sean is a great worker who has a really positive impact on those around him," High Performance Manager Steve McAdam explained.

"He has been really diligent with his rehab, doing everything asked of him as we worked through the conservative management plan we had laid out.

"Once we discovered that the graft would not be able to withstand further load as we progressed through this process, the decision was made to have Sean seek a specialist opinion."

Macdonald played 86 games during five seasons with the JackJumpers, including being a member of the championship-winning team in 2024.