AFL injuries: Tex Wanganeen to miss most of season after suffering serious foot injury
Tex Wanganeen, the son of AFL legend Gavin, has picked up a navicular stress fracture in his foot while training with Essendon and will miss much of the 2021 season.
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Tex Wanganeen, son of Brownlow Medal winner Gavin, is out of action until the back-end of the season after suffering a foot injury while training with one of his father’s ex-clubs.
But the regional manager for his NAB League club says the injury could allow the father-son prospect at both Port Adelaide and Essendon to work on his conditioning.
Wanganeen moved to Melbourne from Adelaide in February after receiving an Indigenous scholarship at Xavier College and was part of the Bombers’ 2020 father-son academy induction that month.
The 17-year-old has been in the Power’s equivalent academy since 2018 while also playing SANFL juniors for Sturt and Prince Alfred College.
Port and Essendon have priority access to him as a father-son selection in 2021, owing to Hall of Famer Gavin playing more than 100 games at both clubs – 173 with the Power, 127 at the Bombers.
As part of the Bombers’ father-son academy, Wanganeen trained with Essendon but developed a navicular stress fracture in his foot while with Ben Rutten’s side.
He is in a moonboot at the moment, and Oakleigh Chargers regional manager Jy Bond said he would be out for some time this year.
“I’ve spoken to Gavin and we are going to make sure we get his rehab right,” he said.
“We are not going to push him and we hope that he can get back to playing some footy later on in the year.
“There is no pressure on him and this is probably a good thing for him, he can work on his fitness he can work really hard in the weight room, get really fit and strong and come back and see how he goes at the end of the year.”
The blow comes after Wanganeen, like the rest of underage players in Victoria, missed out on the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 situation in the state.
But Bond said changes to the age makeup of the NAB League were a silver lining for Wanganeen.
“He would have been a top ager this year but he’s now a middle ager after the changes in age groups,” he said.
“He will miss a fair bit of footy but he has another year.
“We didn’t get to see much of him, he did some flashy things for us before we went into lockdown. so he exhibited a couple of nice traits and we were waiting to see where he fitted and what he could do as well.”
Wanganeen has to be in a moonboot for 10 weeks, and then faces six weeks on crutches before another four weeks in a moonboot as part of his recovery.
“We will get him on the bike, get him in the pool. get him to do some boxing which will be good as we will get him off the foot,” Bond said.
“But we will work him really hard as well.”
Bomber out of hospital after mystery infection
Michael Hurley has finally been discharged from hospital after a lingering infection and is expected to build back into full training within two weeks.
Hurley’s mysterious infection is believed to have started in his hip, with his time in hospital extended as doctors attempted to find the right antibiotic to work on his body.
The All-Australian defender missed training last week and while he will still need to ease back into his workload, he is expected to ramp up full training in time for Round 1.
The Dons take on Hawthorn on March 20 in their opening encounter, with Hurley trialling forward at times this summer as Essendon experiments with its forward mix.
It comes as fellow All-Australian backman Cale Hooker revealed he had dropped up to six kilograms in his bid to return to form for the Dons.
Hooker was pushed forward at times in 2020 but was eventually dropped amid talk senior Dons were unhappy with some aspects of the club’s direction.
But he told the club’s website talks with coach Ben Rutten over his direction for his 14th season will have him again settled in the backline.
“I had a couple of weeks back home in WA at the vineyard and had a couple of weeks of rest at the end of the season (before) working really hard and training as hard as I can, and I’ve lost five or six kilograms,” Hooker said.
“I sat down with ‘Truck’ (Rutten) at the end of the year and we outlined some clear parameters for me.
“That was really good because it gave me some clear direction and it’s been nice to get the work in and I’m focusing on that consistency to keep on getting the work in up until the (start of the) season.”
James Stewart, Ned Cahill and Jayden Laverde have all been slotted in as defenders this summer, meaning the Dons have a wealth of options to fill their back six.
Essendon’s new-look forward line suffered a blow on Thursday after Jake Stringer aggravated a leg injury.
Stringer confirmed he was battling Achilles and calf pain. Despite the flare-up the ex-Bulldog was still hoping to be fit for the club’s first pre-season game in the first week of March.
Stringer is seen as a key component this year of Essendon coach Ben Rutten’s forward line following the departure of Joe Daniher and Orazio Fantasia.
But Rutten would have been flattened by the sight of the strong-bodied mid-forward hobbling off with another injury during match simulation.
Stringer has been the most-hyped February champion in his time at Essendon.
In 2018 he was labelled a midfield “beast” by Hayden Skipworth and last year the strong-bodied mid-forward admitted he was “borderline flying” after his exceptional summer on the track.
But the fear for Essendon fans will be that he has had to manage that achilles issue, even if he is right for the clash against Hawthorn.
Stringer was in marauding form with 10.3 from his first four matches of 2020 as the Dons jumped to a 3-1 start to the season.
Then when he returned from a syndesmosis injury that saw him out until late August he looked out of shape and failed to cover the ground as the Bombers rushed him back into action.
GIANT INJURY BLOW SCRAMBLES SUPERCOACH PLANS
WS star Lachie Whitfield is in doubt for Round 1 after sustaining a bruised liver.
The former No. 1 draft pick, who has become one of the game’s best running defenders, complained of soreness to his liver after training on Friday.
Scans have revealed a bruise to his liver, which the club said happened to the 26-year-old during training.
“It’s on the lower end of the scale and he’s feeling OK at the moment,” Giants chief medical officer Bassam Moses.
“He hasn’t required hospitalisation but it’s hard to put a time frame on his recovery at this stage.
“He’ll continue to be monitored closely as the bruising subsides and will be a week-by-week proposition.”
GWS’ season opener is on Sunday, March 21, against St Kilda, leaving Whitfield about six weeks to prove his fitness.
BLUES SUFFER RUCK SETBACK
In a blow to Carlton, budding ruckman Tom De Koning has suffered a back injury.
The 21-year-old ruckman will miss the start of the AFL season after being diagnosed with a back stress fracture needing months of rest.
Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd said the Blues would be cautious with his recovery, handing Marc Pittonet the chance to be the club’s Round 1 ruckman.
“Given the nature of this type of injury, we suspect Tom will miss the first few games of the season to allow his body to rest and recover accordingly,” Lloyd said.
“We expect at that point that Tom will then be available for selection.”
EXTENDED LAY-OFF FOR BROWN AFTER SURGERY
Melbourne’s boom recruit Ben Brown has undergone knee surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee, quashing his hopes of a Round 1 debut in the red and blue.
In a pre-season blow, the Demons confirmed the key forward required an arthroscopy following a consultation with his specialist on Wednesday.
Brown and the Demons had sought the opinion of a specialist after he experienced persistent swelling in his knee.
The Demons said on Thursday the operation had gone as expected, but it is set to sideline him for a month.
Melbourne hopes Brown will be able to begin running four weeks after the surgery and remains confident he can still feature in the “early rounds” of the season for his new team.
“Given Ben’s history we will be taking a conservative approach to his recovery,” Demons’ football boss Alan Richardson said.
“Ben’s availability for selection will be determined on how well he responds to the rehab program.
“We are very confident through that we can build Ben back to full fitness and we will see him in action during the early rounds of the season.
“We anticipate Ben will be in a position to commence running four weeks following surgery.
“He is in very good shape and his training standard since joining the club have been outstanding.
“We recruited Ben as a long-term player for the club and are very confident that his best football is ahead of him.”
Brown managed just nine games in his final season with North Melbourne last year before his season was cut short by surgery on the same left knee.
The 28-year-old was traded to the Demons after seven seasons and 287 goals with the Kangaroos.
Meanwhile, defender Marty Hore underwent successful surgery to repair his left anterior cruciate ligament after rupturing it at training two weeks ago.
Brown had made a strong early impression at his new club during pre-season training.
He was traded to Melbourne along with pick 28 and North Melbourne’s future fourth-round selection during last year’s trade period
In return, the Demons handed over picks 26 and 33 and a future fourth-round selection to the Kangaroos.
Originally published as AFL injuries: Tex Wanganeen to miss most of season after suffering serious foot injury
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