She said before the competition that she wasn't fully recovered, and wasn't able to train long programs. I think she said after the competition that she still had never done one till she actually competed it. So it was pretty reasonable to assume that if she couldn't do one during the practice immediately before the free skate, she wouldn't be able to do one during. Obviously she did, with determination and adrenaline, but if she surprised herself and her whole team it's fair that she surprised us too.
I hear you but if Trusova had been limping around as obviously as Scherbakova was gasping, people might have felt differently. Additionally, I think people were scared of Anna fainting on the ice and hitting her head, a much scarier thought than an injured leg.
Then they reported that she refused a temperature check - I'm not sure if that means an official competition one or just one from her coaches, but if it was an official one for ********* safety that's obviously going to upset people. As with masks, if people just get to opt out it kind of defeats the purpose. I think people have also been pretty upset by how many Russian skaters have gotten *********, so they're feeling extra protective.
There's also the element of this competition not being that important, since there might not be a worlds and even if there is, there are several more competitions she could have qualified at when she was feeling better.
If you want to take age out of it, when Ashley Cain fell, hit her head, then kept skating, people were pissed at the referee for not stopping her. Skaters are always going to want to skate, but more objectivity is expected from the people around them. Basically, the "adults in the room" has more to do with not being the actual skater than age.
I totally get why people were upset before and why they're still upset, feeling like the situation speaks to the greater disregard for athlete safety in the sport.