A SOUTH Australian woman will require surgery this week to replace ruptured breast implants after she and a friend were jumped by a kangaroo while cycling in the Clare Valley.

Sharon Heinrich, 45, and Helen Salter, 47, were cycling side by side along a tourist route in the wine region last week when she saw a large kangaroo standing on an embankment.

As they passed, the kangaroo bounded across the path and jumped on Mrs Heindrich, landing with his hind legs on her torso and then launching off on to Mrs Salter’s back.

It knocked both from their bikes before hopping away, apparently unharmed.

“Just out of the corner of my eye I’ve seen this kangaroo up on this ledge,” Mrs Heinrich said.

“I thought, ‘he’s cute’, and then he jumped on top of me and used me to launch off and on to my girlfriend.

“We flew probably 1.5m after he hit us. I was on the ground and couldn’t breathe for about 10 minutes.”

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Mrs Heinrich broke three ribs and will need surgery to replace her damaged breast implants.

“They worked as airbags and have been ruptured by the ordeal,” she joked.

Mrs Slater suffered concussion and whiplash, Mrs Heinrich said.

The pair work in a nursing home in the town of Clare and are used to seeing kangaroos in the area.

But they never suspected a kangaroo might jump a bike and Mrs Heinrich is grateful their injuries were not more severe.

Mrs Heinrich’s husband gave her a stuffed toy boxing kangaroo as a memento.

“It’s all you can do now: laugh about it and heal,” she said.