Carlton defender Liam Jones to undergo surgery on fractured left hand

Carlton’s wretched preseason run has been compounded by yet another setback, this time a key defender will require surgery, following on from injuries to stars Sam Docherty, Mitch McGovern and Jarrod Pickett.

Liam Jones faces a stint on the sidelines after suffering a fractured hand. Picture: AAP

Carlton’s wretched preseason run has been compounded by yet another injury setback, this time to key defender Liam Jones, who will require surgery.

Jones suffered a minor fracture to his left hand at training on Monday and has been booked in for surgery today.

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Liam Jones faces a stint on the sidelines after suffering a fractured hand. Picture: AAP

The 27-year-old will miss a chunk of the preseason and the injury is the latest in a litany to strike the Blues, with the likes of Sam Docherty, Mitch McGovern and Jarrod Pickett all going down in preseason.

Docherty ruptured his ACL for the second time in a training mishap before Christmas and will miss the entire 2019 season.

High-profile recruit McGovern fractured his back last month, but is recovering well and is on the cusp of returning to regular training duties, while livewire Pickett has had surgery to repair his patella tendon.

Recruits Will Setterfield (ACL) and Darcy Lang (foot) are getting closer to hitting the track, as is defender Caleb Marchbank (foot).

The injuries have taken some shine off the Blues’ off-season recruiting bonanza and new direction with superstar Patrick Cripps and Docherty taking over the captaincy from veteran Marc Murphy.

Originally published as Carlton defender Liam Jones to undergo surgery on fractured left hand