AFL 2021: Dyson Heppell joins growing list of injured Essendon stars
The winless Bombers have already lost three key cogs to long term injuries, and now skipper Dyson Heppell could be set to join them on the sidelines.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Essendon’s injury woes have deepened with skipper Dyson Heppell battling a ‘disc issue’ and no certainty to face St Kilda on Saturday.
The Bombers are battling a long injury list, with Dylan Shiel, Jye Caldwell and Sam Draper all to miss at least a month of footy following a dirty day against Port Adelaide last weekend..
Shiel (knee) will miss at least four to six weeks, Caldwell (hamstring) to miss six and eight weeks and Draper (ankle) is eight to 10 away.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
To make matters worse, Heppell is touch and go to face the Saints this week as the Bombers fight to avoid a 0-3 start to the season
“He had a bit of a back spasm there on Thursday and a bit of a disc issue there, which can take some time,” Bombers football boss Josh Mahoney said on SEN.
“We’re hopeful he’ll get up for this week, but if not maybe next week when we play in Sydney five days later.
“He’s tracking along pretty well but he’s becoming a really important player for us in the backline as we try a few different players down there who are starting to jel and build some cohesion.
“How he goes today will probably dictate whether he plays.”
Covering the loss of Draper in the ruck will be difficult, but Mahoney said the Bombers had options.
“There’s a few discussions to be had,” he said.
“Peter Wright has been our second ruck so far, Nick Bryan is coming through and Andrew Phillips.
“There’s a few options.
“Sam is out for eight to 10 weeks, so probably a combination of all three (to cover him).”
Young tall Nick Bryan (hamstring) will be available for section while Jake Stringer is not far away.
It continues a torrid run for the rebuilding Bombers who lost three senior players in Joe Daniher, Adam Saad and Orazio Fantasia in last year’s trade period and will look to field one of the league’s youngest teams for the next few months.
Gun forward Jake Stringer is ready to return from an achilles injury while Matt Guelfi has also pressed his case for selection against St Kilda on Saturday.
The injuries will deplete the Bombers ahead of a tough run coming up against St Kilda (Marvel Stadium), Sydney Swans (SCG), Brisbane Lions (Gabba) and Collingwood.
Draper will see a specialist this week to determine whether he will have surgery, continuing his unlucky run of injuries.
The gun ruckman, who has emerged as one of the most exciting players on the Bombers’ list, only made his return from a knee reconstruction last year.
Mahoney said the club was optimistic Draper would return this season.
“Sam will see a specialist in the coming days with confirmation of a syndesmosis injury, but we are hopeful he will be back and playing for the second half of the season,” he said.
Shiel requires an arthroscope to trim the damaged meniscus in his knee.
The long-term concern for Shiel is the missing meniscus will leave his knee joint in danger suffering from of bone-on-bone friction.
Mahoney said the injuries would clearly test the club’s depth as Essendon looks to inject more youth in coming weeks.
“Dylan will be required to have a knee arthroscopy and we will know more about the timeframes for his return following this procedure over the coming days,” Mahoney said.
“At this stage, we don’t anticipate he will return to the field for at least the next four to six weeks but we will continue to monitor him closely this week and see how he progresses.”
Caldwell is in his first year at the Bombers after making the move from GWS. Mahoney said Caldwell had sustained a serious hamstring injury.
“Scans confirmed that Jye sustained a more significant hamstring strain, and we will see how he progresses over the next week but unfortunately we expect him to miss the next six to eight weeks of football,” he said.
“While these injuries are disappointing and will test our depth over the coming weeks, it provides opportunities for others to step up and contribute strongly to our side this weekend and beyond.”
Injuries: Jye (Caldwell) has a hamstring, Dylan (Shiel) has a knee and (Sam) Draper has a high ankle. The doctors don’t think Dylan’s is an ACL, just locked up, but he’ll have some scans.
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) March 27, 2021
Stringer could play his first game of the season after emerging unscathed from his VFL hitout across the weekend following some achilles issues in the pre-season.
He would automatically become the chief forward target in a team which is looking to avoid a third-straight loss.
The Bombers made an excellent start in their narrow loss to Hawthorn in Round 1, but it is clear they are in a full rebuild phase and face a tough year.
Former Fremantle and St Kilda coach Ross Lyon said the Bombers would take time to contend again.
“I think they are at ground zero, the bottom of the mountain,” Lyon said on Triple M.
“Losing (Joe) Daniher, (Orazio) Fantasia and (Adam) Saad and (Michael) Hurley (infection) in trouble and that is really a sad story.
“I like what they did at the draft this year with the young talls, but they are in for some pain.
“There is no quick fix here, so supporters sit down, relax, back Ben Rutten in and back your recruiters in and enjoy the build.”
Lyon said Richmond’s successful premiership build showed how long it can take.
The Bombers are also desperate to re-sign star midfielder Zach Merrett in the face of free agency offers to move elsewhere.
“Let’s put it back to Richmond, they have won three out of the last four (premierships), but ‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick) didn’t win a final for his first eight years,” he said.
“I think five years in they might have played in the finals and got smacked in both of them and then had that really down year.
“People don’t like to hear it, but it takes five, six, seven, eight years to get back to contending.”
Port fans go scorched earth on Ken Hinkley
The Swans have marched into another grand final, but Ken Hinkley was the name on many lips after he fell short yet again.
Player ratings: Delayed flight? Port’s prelim no-shows
Port Adelaide’s season ended in Sydney on Friday night – and there will be a few big names who will like their time again. Every player rated as a star Swan heads towards greatness.