AFL 2020: Bomber forward to return from the wilderness as injuries hit Essendon
A 790-day AFL absence is likely to end for Essendon forward James Stewart on Friday night against Brisbane.
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A 790-day AFL absence is likely to end for Essendon forward James Stewart on Friday night with Bombers coach John Worsfold looking to add some scoring firepower to his team for the clash against Brisbane.
Worsfold also flagged a potential debut for big man Sam Draper against the ladder-leading Lions confident that bringing in two fresh players, without an AFL game between them since 2018, posed little risk in a COVID-19 impacted season.
“We like to minimise any risk when we name players and we generally won’t unless we think they are ready to go,” Worsfold said on Wednesday.
“Ned Cahill (who made his debut in Round 7) hadn’t played any footy this year and hadn’t played AFL before. A lot of players are making debuts in different circumstances, a lot of players are coming off long-term injuries.
“We make sure they are physically fit and ready to cope with AFL footy. Form is different question. If you wanted a guarantee how every player you bring in was going to perform, you’d never bring them in.
“James (Stewart), definitely we now feel as though he is ready to go.”
Stewart, who has battled a series of injuries, hasn’t played at senior level since round 11, 2018, while 205cm big man Draper has made a successful recovery after rupturing his ACL last year.
Their likely inclusion comes as the Bombers continue to battle injury with both Orazio Fantasia (calf) and Jayden Laverde (ankle) joining a growing list this week.
ðŸ—žï¸ The latest injury news on Laverde, Fantasia, Stringer, Heppell + more.
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) July 28, 2020
Worsfold suggested the impact of being forced onto non-AFL grounds to train, while stationed in their Gold Coast hub, could be playing a part.
“There’s a lot of injuries creeping in, I don’t know if it’s any more than a normal season,” he said.
“We are training on different surfaces regularly and that is often a warning sign. In Melbourne you train on your same ground and play on the same grounds.
“Up here we are training on different grounds, some and harder some are softer. And that does impact. There’s a variety of reasons why these injuries may be creeping in.”
Worsfold said the influx of more teams, with both Sydney and GWS also headed to Queensland, would make the situation more difficult.
“We all need to be flexible. There are only so many grounds available and with more teams arriving the timing of your training sessions and the days you want to train, we are all fitting in together,” he said.
“Everything is working reasonably well and we are aware you are going to pick up injuries. We are taking as many precautions as we can.
“But we still have to train, that’s the bottom line.”
Originally published as AFL 2020: Bomber forward to return from the wilderness as injuries hit Essendon