Perth Lynx star Han Xu cleared to face Bendigo Spirit after avoiding knee injury and can now chase revenge

Injured Perth Lynx star Han Xu has been cleared for Sunday’s blockbuster against Bendigo and given her the chance to seek vengeance for the way the Spirit targeted her physically throughout their match at HoopsFest. Xu injured her knee during Tuesday’s win over Southside Melbourne Flyers but the Lynx were always confident she’d avoided structural damage and that the pain was caused by a clash of legs. The 211cm Chinese star didn’t require scans and will enter Sunday’s game at Red Energy Arena determined to make a statement. Lynx coach Ryan Petrik was furious after his team beat Bendigo during HoopsFest, saying international stars would stop coming to Australia if the physical tactics used against Xu continued. Perth General Manager Chris Earl said Xu was keen to have a big impact against Bendigo. “She’s obviously attracted a lot more physicality than she is used to, so we are keeping a real eye on that,” he said. “But she is ready to go and wants to prove a point. We have had conversations and the league is aware of our position. We just have to trust that the referees will make the calls that they need to. “Our team will put things in place to protect her and we will back her in. She’s a superstar. She’s already proven how good she is across her career. I’m sure she’ll want to go out there and perform. “She’s really keen for us to win, and having her available is huge. As Ryan said from the start of the season, we have built this team around her.” The Lynx replaced Bendigo in second spot when the Spirit suffered a shock loss to the lowly Geelong Venom on Friday. Both Perth and Bendigo are now 16-5 with two matches remaining in the regular season. The Lynx will play seventh placed Sydney in their last game, while the Spirit face ladder leaders Townsville. So victory on Sunday will give the Lynx the chance to secure a top-two finish for finals. “That would give us home court advantage in the finals but we know we are facing a very good team who are at home and they are wounded. This game is not going to be easy,” Earl said. “We have to continue our form and take all of the steps because we have another game to go after this. The beauty is that now our destiny is in our own hands, if we can do everything right.”