"I am truly not okay"- Ilona Maher has a hilarious take as she suffers a nose injury at Bristol Bears' home game

Ilona Maher hilariously showed off the nose injury she suffered during the Bristol Bears' home game on January 18, 2024. Maher started playing with the Bears in January and will continue with the Premiership Women's Rugby for three months.

In December 2024, Maher signed a three-month contract with the PWR team, hoping to secure a spot on the 2025 Rugby World Cup roster with Team USA. She first played on January 5 in a match against the Gloucester-Hartpury but as a substitute. She then took the field with her team against the Exeter Chiefs, contributing scores to the Bears' win.

Maher's following PWR stint in the match against Leicester Tigers secured the win but left her with a broken nose. Leaving the match way before the game ended, the 28-year-old even joined the post-celebration with an ice pack on her face.

In a recent Instagram post on January 18, 2025, Ilona Maher shared a video of her with an icepack on her nose, hilariously taking on the situation with her own audio.

"When people keep asking me if I'm okay but I just broke my nose," her in-video caption said.

Her post caption read:

"No sir, I am truly not okay."

Maher, a member of the US women's rugby team who won her debut medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, won hearts for promoting body positivity in addition to her rugby skills.

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Ilona Maher on getting more people involved in her rugby

Maher at the Bristol Bears v Gloucester-Hartpury - Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby - (Source: Getty)

Ilona Maher, the player who garnered record fans to the Ashton Gate Stadium on her debut game with the Bristol Bears, wished to witness a shift in the sport's culture. In a press conference with Wales Online, the rugby player talked about how more people should come to the sport not just to play but to watch.

"I think that you know we're always trying to get more people to play rugby; that's our big thing but I think we also have to change it to get just more fans out. I don't care if you've never played rugby in your life; I don't care if you don't know the rules; come out to a game and start to learn a new sport, like get a new hobby of coming out to rugby games." (0:06 onwards)

She added:

"And so I think is that this is something that people need to take notice of and it's really a fun thing for not just playing but watching. There's a culture of rugby that we have to shift a little bit because it is an amazing sport but it is an old sport."

Ilona Maher, the most followed rugby player on social media, followed up her Olympic victory with Dancing With the Stars, winning the runners-up position with dance partner Alan Bersten.