Hurt Locker: All the latest injury updates and news at your club
Dustin Martin’s return will give Richmond a huge boost, but the Tigers could be without another of their prime movers. Get the latest injury news at your club.
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Western Bulldogs could receive ruck reinforcements with big man Tim English a chance to return early from injury for Friday night’s clash against Port Adelaide.
The Bulldogs will wait to see how English pulls up from Wednesday’s main training session before making a final call on his availability for the match at the Adelaide Oval.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL INURY LIST
English has missed the past two games after suffering a hamstring injury at training.
Initially described as a “low-grade” hamstring injury, English was originally expected to be sidelined for two-three games.
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ADELAIDE
Ned McHenry - concussion protocol
Brodie Smith - concussion protocol
Zac Taylor - thumb - 1 week
Paul Seedsman - concussion - ongoing
Rory Sloane - knee - season
Brodie Smith and Ned McHenry have started some light training three days following their concussions against GWS, which Adelaide says it is pleased with.
Smith and McHenry are in the AFL’s protocols after both being concussed against the Giants.
Smith was medi-carted off the ground after hitting his head on the turf after he took a spectacular mark.
While Paul Seedsman has returned to Melbourne to see specialists as he continues the concussion battle that has sidelined him since December. Key forward Riley Thilthorpe is expected to return to West Lakes later this week after clearing the AFL’s Covid-19 protocols.
Defender Andrew McPherson is set to return to football this weekend after overcoming a hamstring injury.
-Simeon Thomas-Wilson
BRISBANE
Joe Daniher - Shoulder - 4-6 weeks
Eric Hipwood - Knee - 1-2 weeks
Kai Lohmann - Ankle 5 - weeks
Jaxon Prior - Knee - Test
Brisbane Lions star Joe Daniher has avoided surgery on the shoulder he damaged against the Sydney Swans and could be back playing in a month.
Scans on Tuesday afternoon revealed a soft tissue injury in the shoulder Daniher partially dislocated in Brisbane’s 24-point weekend win over the Swans at the SCG.
The injury will require four to six weeks of rehabilitation before Daniher can return.
“The outcome today is a fairly good one with Joe not requiring surgery on the shoulder and we can just focus on rehabilitating and getting strength back into it,” Lions football boss Danny Daly said.
-Marco Monterverde
CARLTON
David Cuningham - Knee - TBC
Ed Curnow - Calf - TBC
George Hewett - Calf - Test
Josh Honey - Knee - Test
Caleb Marchbank - Knee - TBC
Oscar McDonald - Back - TBC
Mitch McGovern - Hamstring - TBC
Luke Parks - Foot - TBC
Marc Pittonet - Knee - 7-11 weeks
Liam Stocker - Shoulder - TBC
Zac Williams - Achilles - Test
Lewis Young - Suspended - Round 9
Carlton’s plan to cover the loss of Liam Jones this year with Mitch McGovern has been dealt a huge blow. McGovern was sent for hamstring surgery this week and may not play again in the home and away season. McGovern, 27, is expected to miss at least 10-12 weeks after having an operation to repair his hamstring after back-to-back setbacks to start the season.
After being shifted to defence by new Carlton coach Michael Voss, McGovern first injured his hamstring ahead of round two, and then suffered a recurrence of the same injury last Thursday as he was on the verge of a return.
In better news for the Blues, star recruit George Hewett is close to overcoming a calf injury and will have a test in a bid to play against Adelaide on Sunday.
COLLINGWOOD
Charlie Dean - Foot - 6 weeks
Jamie Elliott - Shoulder - 3-4 weeks
Brodie Grundy - Knee - 10-12 weeks
Ash Johnson - Hamstring - 5-6 weeks
Will Kelly Hip 3-4 weeks
Nathan Kreuger - Shoulder - 12+ weeks
Brayden Maynard - Hand - Available
Nathan Murphy - Ankle - Available
Jordan Roughead - Finger - 2-3 weeks
Tom Wilson - Back - TBC
ESSENDON
Nik Cox - Ankle - Test
Tex Wanganeen - Ankle - Test
Andrew Phillips - Hamstring - Test
James Stewart - Calf - 1-2 weeks
Devon Smith - Knee - 2-4 weeks
Harrison Jones - Ankle - Short term
Jake Stringer - Hamstring - 3-4 weeks
Will Snelling - Calf - Medium term
Patrick Voss - Foot - Medium term
Kyle Langford - Hamstring - Medium term
Michael Hurley - Hip - Indefinite
Devon Smith’s frustrating 2022 season has taken yet another twist with a fresh knee setback set to sideline him for up to four weeks.
It comes as young Bomber Nik Cox will be given until the last possible minute to prove his fitness from an ankle injury ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Hawthorn.
The Bombers have endured a miserable season with only one win from seven games, with their playing stocks also stretched by a series of injuries to key players, including Jake Stringer who will miss a month with yet another hamstring injury.
Smith has been one of the club’s whipping boys, having been demoted to the medi-sub at one stage of the season before being axed to the VFL a few weeks back due to indifferent form.
He didn’t play in the VFL last week after suffering swelling in his knee following PCL surgery.
The club expects him to miss between two and four weeks.
“Dev has had some knee pain and swelling. It’s something he’s been dealing with since he had his PCL surgery,” Essendon head of high performance Sean Murphy said.
“He’s not feeling quite right to get out there and perform, so we’re going to give him a couple of weeks to settle that down and then build him back up again.
“We probably won’t see him for the next couple of weeks though.”
Cox was subbed out of last week’s loss to the Western Bulldogs and faces a race against time to play on Saturday night.
“’Coxy’ jarred that ankle in the second quarter. It’s the same side he had previously, but a different feeling in the ankle,” Murphy said.
“He’s a little bit sore … but it settled pretty well. He’ll be a genuine test for this week … we’ll give him every chance to be available.”
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (AFL health and safety protocols) and Aaron Francis (illness) will return to training this week.
The Bomber have conceded Kyle Langford won’t return before the midseason break, as he recovers from hamstring surgery.
Tex Wanganeen (ankle) and Andrew Phillips (hamstring) are edging closer to being available.
— Glenn McFarlane
FREMANTLE
Sean Darcy - concussion- – Test
Neil Erasmus - concussion – Test
Joel Hamling - knee – Test
Matt Taberner - hamstring – 2-4 weeks
Matthew Johnson - ankle – 3 weeks
Nat Fyfe - back - TBA
Joel Western - hamstring- - TBA
The Covid outbreak at the Fremantle Dockers has claimed six players ahead of Friday’s clash with North Melbourne and coach Justin Longmuir believes victory celebrations last week could be to blame.
Defender Griffin Logue, ruckman Lloyd Meek and forward Michael Frederick are the latest players to be ruled out, joining Rory Lobb, Blake Acres and Travis Colyer who were also forced into the health and safety protocols earlier this week.
Longmuir was cautiously optimistic there will be no further players ruled out for the clash with the last-placed Kangaroos at Optus Stadium, with coaches and players extra cautious this week.
Players have been training in small groups and even housemates were told not to car pool to training.
But Longmuir said the damage could have been done after the upset three-point win over Geelong in Geelong last Saturday and away games, with travel, were always an issue.
“After a good win you tend to get a bit more touchy-feely and closer and sing the song together,” Longmuir said.
“Then we sat on a bus for an hour, sat on a plane for four hours and then sat on another bus back to the club for 40 minutes.
“It could have happened in that time.”
-Eliza Reilly/West Australian
GEELONG
Jon Ceglar - Foot - 6-9 weeks
Toby Conway - Hip - TBC
Jack Henry - Foot - TBC
Max Holmes - Ankle - TBC
Sam Menegola - Knee - Test
Quinton Narkle - Ankle - TBC
Gary Rohan - Back and hip - TBC
Sam Simpson - Concussion - TBC
Rhys Stanley - Ankle - Test
Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield says he plans to make his comeback from a calf problem against Greater Western Sydney in Canberra on Saturday.
Dangerfield, 32, has missed the past two games after a calf problem flared up when he copped a knee in the back of his lower leg against Hawthorn in Round 5.
He had previously strained the same calf the week before, and the knock in the same spot resulted in a calf bleed, robbing the superstar ballwinner of his trademark power and speed.
But after losing to Fremantle at home on Saturday afternoon, the Cats are expecting to welcome Dangerfield back for the clash against the Giants at Manuka Oval.
Dangerfield said he had to get through training on Wednesday and pull up well over the next two days to get the green light to return.
“That is definitely the plan. I have just got to get through training this morning, which is the main session before we play GWS,” Dangerfield said on SEN.
“If I can get through that unscathed, the signs are pointing to getting back out there finally.
“I gave my calf a tweak against Brisbane (the previous week), and then got a knee in the exact same spot.
“It started to bleed, so I couldn’t get power in my game. It took longer to get that right than I would have liked.”
The Cats have lost young running machine Max Holmes to a serious ankle injury, while ruckman Rhys Stanley is also nursing a sore ankle.
Geelong’s form has been patchy after a blistering Round 1 win over Essendon, with the Cats in seventh spot on four wins from seven games.
-Jay Clark
GOLD COAST
Connor Budarick - Ankle - Test
Wil Powell - Hamstring -Test
Josh Corbett - Hip - 1-2 Weeks
Ben King - Knee - Season
Bodhi Uwland - Back - Indefinite
GWS
Jack Buckley - Knee - 12-14 weeks
Brent Daniels - Foot - 1-2 weeks
Phil Davis - Hamstring - 7-8 weeks
Jacob Hopper - Knee - 7-8 weeks
Daniel Lloyd - Shoulder - 3-5 weeks
HAWTHORN
Mitch Lewis – sickness – 1 week
Changkuoth Jiath – hamstring – 1-2 weeks
Conor Nash – quad – test
Tom Phillips – ankle – 8 weeks
Ben McEvoy – neck – TBC
Ned Reeves – shoulder – TBC
Tyler Brockman – 1 week
Exciting Hawks pair Mitch Lewis and Changkouth Jiath won’t return this week for the side’s Saturday night clash against Essendon.
Lewis has suffered a non-covid related illness that has ruled him out despite being initially passed as a fit while the club has said it is taking a conservative approach with Jiath’s hamstring injury and could be on the sidelines for another two weeks.
In better news, midfielder Conor Nash has escaped damage to his quad and will undergo a fitness test ahead to see whether he takes on the Bombers.
-Will Hogan
MELBOURNE
Taj Woewodin - Concussion - 1 Week
Michael Hibberd - Calf - TBC
Christian Salem - Knee - 3 Weeks
Joel Smith - Ankle - 8-10 Weeks
Blake Howes - Foot - 10-12 Weeks
Melbourne has lost athletic but oft-injured defender Joel Smith for at least two months but will regain coach Simon Goodwin and the five players who sat out last week while in the AFL’s Covid protocols.
Smith will undergo right ankle surgery after fracturing a bone in the 10-point win over Hawthorn on Saturday and could miss as many as 10 weeks, while premiership backman Michael Hibberd has suffered a calf setback.
Luke Jackson, Kozzy Pickett, Harry Petty, Alex Neal-Bullen and Tom Sparrow are due to exit the health and safety protocols this week and will be available for selection.
Hibberd, an All-Australian in 2017, is yet to play this year because of a pre-season calf issue and was set to return in the VFL for Casey at the weekend before aggravating the injury in the lead-up.
“Michael Hibberd unfortunately had a setback during the week as he prepared to return from injury,” Melbourne’s high performance manager Selwyn Griffith said.
“Fortunately, it’s a small setback and we look forward to having him back within the main group soon.”
Star defender Christian Salem is also inching towards his return after suffering a knee injury in the round 1 grand final rematch with the Western Bulldogs.
Salem could be as few as three weeks away from playing again.
-Marc McGowan
NORTH MELBOURNE
Miller Bergman - Shoulder - TBC
Charlie Comben - Knee - Test
Aidan Corr - Illness - Test
Ben Cunnington - Illness - Indefinite
Eddie Ford - Ankle - 3-4 weeks
Josh Goater - Concussion - 1 week
Aaron Hall - Hamstring - 2-3 weeks
Jared Polec - Ankle - Indefinite
Phoenix Spicer - Hamstring - 3-4 weeks
Tarryn Thomas - Hamstring - Test
Tristan Xerri - Foot - 3 weeks
North first-gamer Miller Bergman could be headed for surgery after being subbed out of the loss to Carlton with a shoulder injury sustained as he gathered his first AFL possession.
“We’ll get a surgeon to have a look at Miller’s shoulder in the coming days to see if any intervention needs to occur from that perspective, but we won’t know a lot until that happens later in the week,” North general manager of football performance Dan McPherson said.
But scans cleared Tarryn Thomas of a hamstring issue following Saturday’s game.
PORT ADELAIDE
Miles Bergman – virus - 2 weeks
Charlie Dixon – ankle - assess
Orazio Fantasia – knee - 2-3 weeks
Mitch Georgiades – calf - assess
Scott Lycett – shoulder - 12 weeks
Trent McKenzie – knee - 6-8 weeks
Josh Sinn – groin - TBC
Charlie Dixon could make a shock return to footy this weekend, with the Port Adelaide star in line to play in the SANFL.The Power spearhead is yet to play any footy this year after having pre-season surgery on his ankle following a contest at training.
Port’s head of medical services Tim O’Leary said if Dixon got through training this week then the 31-year-old could play for the Magpies against reigning premiers Woodville-West Torrens.
-Simeon Thomas-Wilson
RICHMOND
Tom Brown - Corked calf - Test
Josh Caddy - Hamstring - 3-5 weeks
Thomson Dow - Thigh - Test
Dustin Martin - Personal - Test
Marlion Pickett - Hamstring - Test
Dion Prestia - Ankle/Achilles/Illness - Test
Hugo Ralpsmith - Ribs - Test
Samson Ryan - Achilles - 1-2 weeks
Collingwood should prepare for the full Dustin Martin experience on Saturday with the Richmond star primed to explode on his return to football at the MCG.
Martin hasn’t played since taking personal leave following the Tigers Round 1 loss to Carlton, to deal with the death of his father.
Richmond’s physical performance manager Peter Burge said Martin had completed a “huge workload” to bring himself back up to AFL speed and is set to boost a Tigers line-up in form following a 109-point thumping of West Coast last weekend.
“Dustin’s been training with us now for a week and a half,” Burge said.
“He completed quite a big session out here with the other guys who didn’t have a game last week and he did a huge workload in terms of total kilometres, some intensity, some handball games, match simulation type training.
“He’s looking really good to potentially be available for selection this week.
“We’ve got another main session on Thursday and all being great in that, then I’d anticipate he would be up for selection.”
But teammate Dion Prestia might struggle to come up for Saturday’s clash after being subbed out of the win over the Eagles with ankle, Achilles and calf issues.
Prestia was also ill and would need to complete the main training session on Thursday to be a chance of taking on Collingwood.
“He’s actually crook today (Tuesday), he’s at home, so we haven’t had a chance to look at him on the track,” Burge said.
ST KILDA
Jack Bytel - Knee - TBC
Nick Coffield - Knee - Season
Dan Hannebery - Calf - Indefinite
Jack Hayes - Knee - Season
Young midfielder Hunter Clark is poised to return via the VFL this week where he’s expected to line up alongside Zak Jones who needs another week in the reserves. Rowan Marshall is almost a certain starter for the Saints’ clash against Melbourne.
SYDNEY
Harry Cunningham - Abdominal - Test
Robbie Fox - Hamstring - 1-2 weeks
Tom Hickey - Knee - Test
Lachlan McAndrew - Hamstring - Test
Paddy McCartin - Concussion - TBC
Logan McDonald - Concussion - TBC
Sam Naismith - Knee - Season
Angus Sheldrick - Knee - 6 weeks
Heart-and-soul ruckman Tom Hickey is poised to make an early return from injury for Sydney’s clash with Gold Coast at the SCG on Saturday.
Hickey sustained a high-grade medial ligament setback against the Western Bulldogs in round 3, and the Swans’ medical staff couldn’t see him returning inside six weeks at the time.
But the 31-year-old has made a habit of beating injury prognoses and has trained well in recent days but will still need to prove himself at Thursday’s main session.
Hickey is one of three potential inclusions for John Longmire’s team, with concussion sufferers Paddy McCartin and Logan McDonald rated even better chances of facing the Suns after a week off.
“Paddy McCartin and Logan McDonald are absolutely right in that frame. They trained today and we expect them to train again on Thursday and be available at this stage,” Longmire said.
“Tom Hickey trained at the back end of last week, trained over the weekend and trained again today, so we expect him to train Thursday and he’s a strong chance as well.
“While he’s not quite over the line; he’s done everything and more that’s been asked of him, so we wouldn’t be surprised if come Thursday he’s available.”
But there is genuine doubt about defender Harry Cunningham, who is dealing with an abdominal strain and woke up sore on Monday after Sunday’s home defeat to Brisbane.
-Marc McGowan
WEST COAST
Oscar Allen - Foot - TBC
Tom Barrass - Hamstring - Test
Campbell Chesser - Ankle - Inactive
Tom Cole - Ankle - Inactive
Brady Hough - Back - Test
Tom Joyce - Ankle - TBC
Zac Langdon - TBC
Xavier O’Neill - Knee - TBC
Nic Naitanui - Knee - TBC
Willie Rioli - Hamstring - TBC
Dom Sheed - Ankle - 3-4 weeks
Bailey Williams - Hamstring - 1 week
Elliot Yeo - Concussion - TBC
Willie Rioli will miss West Coast’s trip to Brisbane this week.The dynamic small forward was subbed out in the second quarter against Richmond on Friday night despite trying to play through a hamstring injury with strapped padding.
In some positive news, Finucane confirmed Tom Barrass was likely to return against the Lions after he was a late withdrawal against Richmond.
-Aaron Kirby/West Australian
WESTERN BULLDOGS
Josh Bruce - Knee - 4-5 weeks
Sam Darcy - Foot - 1-2 weeks
Tim English - Hamstring - 1 weeks
Riley Garcia - Knee - TBC
Mitch Hannan - Concussion - Test
Lachie Hunter - Personal - TBC
Jason Johannisen - Calf - 2-3 weeks
Alex Keath - Hamstring - Test
Toby McLean - Knee - 5-6 weeks
Mitch Wallis - Foot - TBC
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