AFL round 3 injury news: Jordan Ridley to return; Lachie Neale, Callum Coleman-Jones update

Despite broken ribs, Steven May might return for the Dees, while the Hawks have been hit by an injury blow to a key forward as Essendon and Carlton hope to regain key cogs for Gather Round.

Melbourne is expecting defender Steven May to declare himself fit to play in Gather Round this weekend after suffering fractured ribs against Hawthorn.

May missed Melbourne’s win over Port Adelaide after a contest with Hawk Mabior Chol left the star full back with two fractured ribs and a small transverse process fracture.

However Demons coach Simon Goodwin said he would put May through training on Wednesday, with the expectation he lines up against Adelaide on Thursday.

“He’s going really well, so we’ll test him out fully on Wednesday but we’re certainly very confident and expect him to be available,” he said.

“But we won’t take a risk, so we’ll see how he is on Wednesday.

“Everything’s trending towards that.

“Nothing surprises me with Steve, that’s the type of player he is, he’s a high competitor and right from the moment it happened he was keen to get himself going as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile Clayton Oliver was sent for precautionary scans after the victory against the Power, with the star midfielder carrying a finger injury into the match.

Oliver took the issue into the match, having received scans ahead of the game as well.

He wore a glove in the contest at Adelaide Oval, collecting 25 disposals and six clearances but went at just 52 per cent disposal efficiency.

Goodwin said he had no concerns about Oliver’s fitness ahead of the clash with the 0-3 Crows.

“He’s had a little bit of a finger issue the last couple of weeks so we’re continuing to monitor that, it was a precautionary scan,” he said.

“He’s actually pulled up from the game really well so there’s no doubt he’ll play on Thursday night.

“It’s something that we’ll continue to monitor.”

LEWIS FACING STINT ON THE SIDELINES

Hawthorn spearhead Mitch Lewis is facing a stint on the sidelines after copping a hamstring injury.

The full-forward picked up the injury just before three quarter-time and did not return to the field when players stepped back out after a 42-minute break for lightning.

Lewis has had a slow start to the season, kicking one goal in each of his three games to begin the year but only hitting 10 disposals once.

He was outshone by recruit Mabior Chol on Monday in the clash with Geelong, as Chol bagged three goals.

The Hawks were unsure of the severity of Lewis’ hamstring on Monday, with Hawthorn to face Collingwood in six days time as part of Gather Round.

Meanwhile, Blues forward Charlie Curnow believes star teammate Sam Walsh is almost back to full fitness as Carlton prepares for Gather Round.

Mitch Lewis is facing a stint on the sidelines. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images.

Walsh did not have just fluorescent yellow ‘no contact’ cap on at training on Monday, which was a welcomed sight to Curnow.

While Walsh is not expected to be available to face Fremantle on Saturday, Curnow said the midfielder was nearing a return.

“I think it makes us all pretty excited,” he said.

“He had the yellow cap on the other week which means you’re not allowed touch him, so I’m glad he doesn’t have that on anymore because he was just running the field and tricking us all.

“He’s a pretty angry man when he’s not playing football so I’m excited to see him back out there for all our sakes.”

While Walsh is starring on the training track, Harry McKay has been dominant to start the season, clearly over his 2023 goal kicking yips.

The 2021 Coleman Medalist has kicked 11 goals to start the season.

Curnow said his forward partner was also playing some of the best footy of his career.

RIDLEY AIMS FOR GATHER ROUND RETURN

Essendon star defender Jordan Ridley has earmarked a return against Port Adelaide as the Dons put their newfound aggression to the test in next week’s Gather Round clash.

The Dons will take on Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval as Xavier Duursma and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher take on their old sides only months after the pair swapped teams.

The Dons will hope to build on a pair of victories over Hawthorn and St Kilda and will consider both Ridley and Will Setterfield (knee soreness).

Ridley injured his right quad in the club’s practice match loss to Geelong at the start of the month but has made strong progress in his rehab.

He will need to pass this week’s fitness test with flying colours given previous quad issues and the chance of recurrence for an injury that would put him out for

But he said pre-match on Saturday he was keen to push for the Power clash.

Jordan Ridley injured his quad in the final pre-season game. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“Hopefully I will be back next week. I have to tick off all the appropriate things at training but fingers crossed I will be back next week.”

Sydney is likely to be without Dayne Rampe for the Gather Round clash against West Coast after being subbed off with hamstring tightness against Richmond.

The Swans are yet to have scans for Rampe given the public holiday in Sydney on Monday but he is expected to miss against the Eagles.

Sydney has a bye after Gather Round so given his experience and importance to the team giving him two weeks to recover from that tightness would be a prudent decision.

NEALE SCAN RESULT REVEALED

Amidst a weekend of off-field turmoil the Brisbane Lions have been gifted some good news with scans revealing Lachie Neale has avoided serious injury after rolling his ankle in the Easter Thursday loss to Collingwood.

Neale looked in genuine discomfort after rolling his ankle mid-way through the third quarter but managed to play the game out.

The two-time Brownlow Medallist was sent for scans on Saturday which cleared him of serious injury.

Neale was unquestionably Brisbane’s best-performed player in the 20-point defeat to Collingwood, which relegated the Lions to a 0-3 start for the first time since 2018.

The midfielder has had to deal with some swelling in his ankle in the days after the match but is expected to be fit in time to face North Melbourne on Friday for Gather Round.

ROOS ROCKED BY SHATTERING INJURY BLOW

North Melbourne has suffered a second serious Achilles tendon injury in the space of a fortnight with forward/backup ruckman Callum Coleman-Jones set to join young defender Josh Goater on the sidelines for an extended period.

Coleman-Jones was deep in the Kangaroos forward line when he started to move towards play before falling to the ground, clutching his lower leg.

He was in agony, unable to get to his feet again, and had to be taken from the ground on the medical cart.

Callum Coleman-Jones in pain on the Marvel Stadium turf. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

In a nice touch of sportsmanship, even the Blues defenders went over to Coleman-Jones to wish him all the best before he was taken from the field.

The Kangaroos confirmed within a matter of minutes that Coleman-Jones had injured his Achilles, with fears it could be ruptured as was the case with Goater in the round 1 clash with Greater Western Sydney.

It is a huge blow for Coleman-Jones who was trying to establish himself in the Kangaroos line-up after a difficult few seasons, and leaves Alastair Clarkson with limited back-up options for ruckman Tristan Xerri.

If Coleman-Jones has ruptured his Achilles tendon, as the club fears, it would end his season.

Callum Coleman-Jones has been stretchered off after this. Hopefully he's okay 🙏 #AFLNorthBluespic.twitter.com/aZS6Ai83mD

— 7AFL (@7AFL) March 29, 2024

Hate seeing that.

Sending all the love to @NMFCOfficial's Callum Coleman-Jones 💙#AFLNorthBlues

— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) March 29, 2024

Originally published as AFL round 3 injury news: Jordan Ridley to return; Lachie Neale, Callum Coleman-Jones update