Carlton young gun Charlie Curnow set for his first AFL game in more than two years

After five different knee injuries and two years on the sidelines, this Carlton young gun is finally back in the big time.

Charlie Curnow is finlly back for Carlton. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Carlton young gun Charlie Curnow’s two-year AFL absence is set to end on Friday night, with the star Blues forward likely to face St Kilda.

After two hit-outs in the VFL, and following a horror Carlton loss last week, coach David Teague said if he got through training unscathed, he would play against the Saints.

If he does get selected, it would be Curnow’s first AFL game in 761 days.

“Charlie was keen to play last week and put his hand up,“ Teague said on Wednesday.

“We weren’t going to rush the process, so we stuck to our plan. He got through that well, so he’s available now. If he gets through training today, then that’s potentially what will happen, we’ll pick him and give him a chance to play AFL football again.

“He annoyed the living daylights out of me last week, wanting to play. He thought he was capable and ready to go, but also it was (his brother) Ed‘s 200th. He came to me at the start of this week and said he wouldn’t annoy me, but that he was ready to go again.”

He’s back: Luckless Blues star Charlie Curnow’s 761-day wait finally set to end #AFL: Charlie Curnow’s two-year AFL absence is set to end on Friday night, with the star Blues forward likely to face St Kilda on Friday... https://t.co/6FleQfqjyp

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Curnow, 24, has endured five separate knee injuries since his most recent AFL game in round 15, 2019.

“He’s keen, he’s excited. But don’t get me wrong, I’ve got no doubt that there’s going to be periods throughout this journey over the next part of his footy where he’s still going to be growing that confidence and belief again,” he said.

“That’s not only in his body, it’s in his form. But we’ll be there. We’ll support him. We understand that he’s not going to be at his absolute best with the time he’s had off, but we’ll always back in his efforts.

“We know he lives our trademarks really well and that’s what we expect from him if we pick him this weekend. Even if we don’t pick him and he plays VFL, we still expect the same standards from him.”

Carlton will be without a host of star players after the loss to North Melbourne last week, including veteran star Eddie Betts.

Teague said a decision would be made on Coleman Medal leader Harry McKay, who missed last week with a toe injury.

“He’s got to get through training before we’d consider him,” Teague said of McKay.

“He’s got some markers that he’ll have to hit. At this stage it’s unlikely, but he’s progressed a lot over the weekend and he’s feeling a lot better. We’ll play it by ear. If he gets up, that’ll be great for us.”

Originally published as Carlton young gun Charlie Curnow set for his first AFL game in more than two years