AFL injury news: All the latest updates ahead of Round 12
Sidelined now for five weeks, livewire Melbourne vice-captain Jack Viney hasn’t received the news he was hoping for as the Demons prepare for their Brisbane Lions blockbuster.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Melbourne vice-captain Jack Viney has not joined his teammates in Sydney as he continues to battle a foot stress fracture which has sidelined the midfielder for the past five weeks.
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said Viney would now not return until after the club’s Round 14 bye, despite some promising progress in his recovery over the past week.
“He won’t be available until that time but he’s jumping out of his skin,” Goodwin said.
“He’s back running and doing all the things that we know he’s capable of doing.”
The Demons flew 26 players to Sydney to take on Brisbane on Friday night.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
Melbourne’s two mid-season draft selections — Werribee wingman Kye Declase and Murray Bushrangers defender Daniel Turner — will join the club on Sunday after having Covid-19 tests.
Goodwin said the 24-year-old Declase, who was coached by Melbourne development boss Mark Williams at Werribee, was capable of playing senior football this season.
“Kye has played for Werribee and is ready to play AFL footy if his form warrants it,” Goodwin said.
“At 24, he’s still got a lot of learning and growth in him and ‘Choco’ (Williams) was aware of that and thinks he has some really good AFL qualities.”
Another setback in Tigers’ flag ambitions
Richmond’s premiership defence has hit another significant hurdle with ruckman Toby Nankervis suffering a “medium term” PCL sprain.
The Tigers take on Essendon in Dreamtime in the West on Saturday night, with Shane Edwards (ankle) likely available but the club’s best two rucks now out with injury.
Nankervis returned after suffering the PCL injury in the first bounce against Adelaide, but scans showed an injury that could sideline him for more than a month.
Sydney’s Tom Hickey made a miraculous return from his own PCL issues after only a week but he was set to miss 6-8 weeks before that comeback.
Ivan Soldo has just been moved onto the long-term injury list to clear space for a mid-season pick on Wednesday after an ACL tear and two subsequent surgeries.
The Tigers will have to rely upon out of contract ruck-forward Mabior Chol and Callum Coleman-Jones, and also have 206cm ruckman Samson Ryan on their list.
They will take on in-form Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui, who has been awarded coaches votes in his past two performances.
The Tigers had hoped to return to robust good health with Trent Cotchin (hamstring), Dion Prestia (calf) and Shai Bolton (wrist) back against Adelaide, but Nankervis joins Tom Lynch (knee cartilage) on the sidelines.
Richmond physical performance manager Peter Burge said Nankervis had played out the game after being “quite sore” at the first bounce.
“The doctor did some testing and suspected that there may have been a little bit of a PCL sprain, but he was good enough to go back out and play at that stage,” he said.
“He played the whole game out and was a little bit sore, but our fingers were crossed obviously post-game that he would wake up feeling alright the next day and that there was not too much going on.
“But he had some scans and definitely sprained his PCL, which is going to require a couple of weeks out of the game, just for it to glue up and for him to do a little bit of strength work around that and get his stability back to normal.
“We will have a better idea in the next week or two about his return to play, but at this stage, it is probably a medium-term injury.”
Edwards will play if he can get through main training on Thursday in Sydney, while Kane Lambert (calf) could only be a week away.
He will start main training next week and while the Tigers are scheduled to have the bye, could play if their clash against West Coast the following week is brought forward due to COVID.
Bombers star doubtful for Tigers clash
Essendon defender Jayden Laverde is “touch-and-go” to take on Richmond as he continues to battle a left knee injury.
A revelation after being moved to defence this season, Laverde was subbed off in last weekend’s win over West Coast and will need to prove his fitness later this week to take on the Tigers.
“He was off legs (on Tuesday), so we’ll see him in main training and see how he goes, but he is touch-and-go for this week,” Essendon high performance manager Sean Murphy said.
Peter Wright is unlikely to tackle Richmond after being a late withdrawal with a calf complaint for the match against the Eagles.
The key forward is targeting a return after the Bombers’ Round 13 bye.
Small forward Will Snelling will require thumb surgery after suffering a fracture last weekend, which is likely to sideline him for at least a month.
Defender Aaron Francis is set to return against Richmond after missing the win over the Eagles due to illness.
Crow blow: Luckless star suffers another injury setback
Crows’ veteran defender Daniel Talia has suffered another setback on his return from a foot injury.
Adelaide’s head of footy, Adam Kelly, said Talia, who underwent surgery in April to remove a bone spur in his foot, had experienced soreness after running on grass.
“As a result his timeline to return to play is now less certain,” Kelly said.
“Though still dependent on how well his foot responds to treatment, it is anticipated that this has set his progress back by a couple of weeks.
“It is an unfortunate setback which is frustrating for Daniel and the club and fingers crossed we will still see him play a meaningful part towards the end of the season.”
Talia hasn’t played a match for Adelaide since celebrating his 200-game milestone in Round 18’s loss to Richmond in September last year.
Meanwhile, Kelly confirmed that young midfielder Sam Berry would miss this weekend’s game against Collingwood, ruled out under the AFL’s concussion protocols, while small forward Lachlan Murphy was continuing his return from an ankle injury and had taken off his moon boot and looking towards a return to running.
He said midfielder Matt Crouch was expected to be reintegrated into the rehabilitation program having completed 10 days of recuperating at home following surgery on his groin.
DOUBLE INJURY BLOW FOR WOUNDED PIES
Collingwood has been dealt a major double injury blow with stars Brodie Grundy and Taylor Adams both facing up to three weeks on the sidelines.
Two of the clubs most important players will miss the next two clashes against Adelaide and Melbourne in another setback for Nathan Buckley’s attempts to resuscitate the Magpies’ flagging season.
Grundy pinched a nerve in his neck on Saturday and saw a specialist on Monday for more advice on his recovery and return-to-play time frame.
His absence presents a huge quandary for KFC SuperCoaches, too, given he is one of the game’s most popular players.
Fitness boss Kevin White said there would be no risks taken in the short term with his neck injury after the star big man lost feeling down his arm immediately after suffering the “whiplash incident” in a marking contest.
“We will go conservative with Brodie with the nature of the injury and he will be (available) after the Queen’s Birthday game and after the bye,” White said.
Collingwood also confirmed Adams had suffered another tear in his medial ligament in his comeback game against Port Adelaide.
It is likely Adams could need more time on the sidelines than the forecast 2-3 week break, but the Pies on Monday rejected any suggestion their vice-captain returned too early from the initial injury despite his quicker-than-expected five week turnaround.
Adams told the Herald Sun after the match “If I was to let my knee recover, I wouldn’t play for the rest of the year.”
White said the new ligament tear was in a different spot to his last one.
“The fact that it (tear) was in a new site and was a new injury gives us confidence that Tay’s return to play had been correct and he had ticked all the boxes,” White said.
“We are looking at the next two to three weeks for Tay to recover from this new injury and go back up and we will probably see Tay after the bye round.”
Hampered Pies captain Scott Pendlebury could be moved into a key playmaking role across half back to help fix-up the Pies’ kicking issues according to former St Kilda and Fremantle coach Ross Lyon.
Lyon said the skipper’s silky left foot would be a weapon across halfback for the remainder of the season as the Magpies attempt to try and shake the poor kicking efficiency which has dogged the team this season.
Pendlebury was sent forward for the Round 8 clash against North Melbourne and then hurt his finger when he sliced it open on Josh Thomas’ teeth the following week in the lead-up to the Round 9 game against Sydney Swans.
Pendlebury has not attended a centre bounce in the past two matches and Lyon said he should be used in defence if the Pies wanted to blood other youngsters in the middle.
“If you are not going to play him inside, he’s got halfback screaming all over him,” Lyon said on Triple M.
“(Look at) Caleb Daniel and what he can do and distribute the ball.
“They (Magpies) have got a few (players) that slaughter it down there or turn it over more consistently.
“Look at what (Dyson) Heppell is doing, I think he (Pendlebury) can play that role. He has got the height, he can get a fist in (to spoil).
“Give him the ball, he will set up a number of goals. It’s either midfield or half back.
“Whereas, deep forward in a team that is not going forward, good luck. I don’t think they are maximising his opportunities.”
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said Pendlebury had been hampered by the right middle finger laceration which required stitches
“You are going to hurt it more coming out as a forward,” said champion forward Wayne Carey.
“Trying to mark with someone punching it rather than receiving it off half back and delivering it, so that does not make sense whatsoever.”
In some welcome good news, Jamie Elliott is expected to make a strong push to play against the Crows in a boost to the forward half.
Elliott needs to get through training this week after missing the past two months with a fractured fibula.
Josh Thomas could also enter the frame after missing the loss to Geelong with an ankle setback.
Spearhead Mason Cox is still under a cloud after copping a hit to his larynx. Collingwood could bolster its key forward needs by taking Norwood tall Jackson Callow in Wednesday’s draft.
More Coverage
Originally published as AFL injury news: All the latest updates ahead of Round 12
Track watch: Port gives glimpse into Lukosius plans
Port Adelaide recruit Jack Lukosius has long been adamant he is best used as a forward – but, as we learnt on Friday, Ken Hinkley might have other ideas. Get all the latest match sim intel.
Harley breaks down as Eagles go best v rest in match sim
In a concern for West Coast, young gun Harley Reid failed to complete match simulation on Friday – a session that revealed more about Andrew McQualter’s possible round 1 side.