AFL 2022: Stay up to date with latest injury news approaching Round 1
St Kilda midfielder Zak Jones has been granted personal leave for his “personal health and wellbeing”, two weeks out from the Saints’ first game of 2022.
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St Kilda has been dealt a blow on the eve of the season, with key midfielder Zak Jones taking personal leave from the club.
The Saints announced the news on Friday, just a day before their final pre-season match against Essendon at Marvel Stadium.
“Zak Jones has been granted a leave of absence to focus on his personal health and wellbeing,” St Kilda chief operating officer Simon Lethlean said in a statement.
“Zak’s welfare is the number one priority and he will be given as much time as he needs, with the full support of the club.
“On behalf of the Jones family, we request their privacy is respected at this time.”
Jones had played in St Kilda’s first practice match against Carlton last Thursday, logging 16 disposals, three clearances and nine inside-50s.
The 26-year-old played 13 AFL games for the Saints last season, averaging 23.4 disposals.
Jones joined St Kilda from Sydney at the end of the 2019 season.
St Kilda faces Collingwood in Round 1 of the home and away season at Marvel Stadium on March 18.
CRUEL INJURY BLOW FOR DONS FATHER-SON HOPEFUL
Jay Clark
Essendon father-son prospect Jayden Davey has suffered a second suspected ACL injury in a devastating blow for the youngster.
The son of Alwyn Davey has already undergone one knee reconstruction and suffered his second serious knee injury in an incident playing school sport for Xavier College.
Jayden and his twin brother Alwyn Jr are eligible to be drafted to Essendon under father-son rules later this year.
Essendon is set to throw its full support behind Jayden in his recovery from the significant injury which is expected to sideline him for 12 months.
The exciting left-footer has turned heads with his electric forward craft in Melbourne and the Northern Territory.
Surgery could wipe out Tiger gun’s season
Kane Lambert’s season is hanging in the balance as Richmond weighs up whether to send the star midfielder in for serious hip surgery.
The premiership ballwinner has struggled with a sore hip this pre-season and could have his 2022 campaign wiped out if he goes under the knife for a major hip procedure.
The Tigers are continuing to investigate the issue and are deciding the best course of recovery in consultation with medicos.
Lambert, 30, will have more talks with specialists over the next week or so before the club makes a call.
Richmond remains hopeful they will not lose the gun midfielder for the season, but will put his welfare first to ensure he makes a full recovery.
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The three-time premiership hero and best-and-fairest runner-up (2018) has shown limited signs of improvement in recent weeks, prompting the Tigers to consider surgical options.
The injury is a blow to Lambert, who comes out of contract and will qualify for free agency at the end of the season after last signing a deserved extension in 2018.
Lambert is one of Richmond’s best and most reliable midfielders whose selflessness and team-first attitude has made him a highly-respected cog in the Tigers’ outfit.
He has sat out Richmond’s intra-club and its clash against Geelong at the weekend and seems certain to miss the first part of the season.
The mature-age VFL pick-up played 13 games last season amid calf problems but still finished ninth in the best-and-fairest despite missing a huge chunk of the season.
The Tigers take on Hawthorn at Devonport Oval on Saturday before facing Carlton in Round 1 in a fortnight.
Defender Nick Vlastuin will also miss the clash against the Hawks on Saturday but is a certainty to play against the Blues in Richmond’s season-opener.
Vlastuin tweaked his hamstring late in the clash against the Cats at the weekend but scans have cleared him of any major damage.
Pies lose another defender on eve of season
– Rebecca Williams
Collingwood’s defensive options have been dealt another blow ahead of the start of the season with Charlie Dean sidelined with a foot fracture.
Scans on Wednesday revealed the 20-year-old rookie draft selection had a fracture in a bone in his foot.
The Magpies said Dean would see a specialist in the coming days to determine exactly how long he would be out of action but expected it to be for a “number of weeks”.
It is a blow to the Magpies’ defensive stocks with Dean in the mix to replace veteran backman Jordan Roughead, who will miss at least the first four rounds after undergoing shoulder surgery.
“We will know more once Charlie has seen the specialist but we are expecting that his recovery will keep him out of the selection frame for a number of weeks,” Magpies general manager of football Graham Wright said.
Dean, a 195cm intercepting defender, was selected at No. 2 in the rookie draft after an impressive season for Williamstown in the VFL last year.
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