Max Gawn to have surgery on his injured hamstring and will miss 12 weeks

SUPERCOACH ALERT: Melbourne has been dealt a major blow with ruckman Max Gawn to have surgery on his injured hamstring and will miss three months.

Max Gawn leaves the field after hurting his hamstring. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

MELBOURNE ruckman Max Gawn will have surgery on his hamstring on Tuesday and will miss up to three months.

Gawn, who hasn’t lost his trademark sense of humour in the ordeal, said that while the surgeon he consulted with on Monday was largely happy with the state of his hamstring, the injury to the tendon means there was little other option than to operate first thing Tuesday.

“I’m emotionally OK,” he said.

BAROMETER: ALL THE LATEST INJURY NEWS AT YOUR CLUB

AFL DAILY: ALL THE AFL NEWS AS IT HAPPENS AND IN ONE PLACE

“I thought it was a normal hamstring early on, and felt like walking and almost going for a jog as soon as I did it. I got straight back up and felt a grab.

“The surgeon was very positive. He got Nick Dal Santo back in seven weeks a while ago — I’m not Nick Dal Santo. Obviously I’m a lot taller.

Max Gawn will have surgery on his injured hamstring. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“I will have surgery. There’s a gap there between the bone and the tendon, so it’s safer and almost quicker to get surgery.”

Gawn, who was in stellar form before he was struck down on Saturday, said he will go straight in on Tuesday and isn’t happy about having to fast from midnight Monday.

“I’ll have a big meal at 11.59 (pm),” he joked.

He estimates a return in about 12 weeks.

“I think it’ll be about the three-month mark,” he said.

“I don’t know anything about hamstrings or rehabbing them.”

While he said he would “love to go to Bali for 10 weeks”, he won’t be doing anything of the sort.

The self-confessed “rucking nerd” anointed Jake Spencer as a potential replacement for him, aided by Jack Watts, and said he will be right on hand to help where required.

Further frustrating was the purple patch that he had been in, Gawn admitted, with many lauding him as the best ruck in the game at the moment.

Max Gawn will miss up to 12 weeks. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“It is frustrating,” he said.

“I’ve probably had a good run at it, to be honest, for someone who’s had eight operations on one knee, I’ve managed to go almost four years without an injury at all. Unfortunately when I do get broken down, it’s a big one. Hopefully I’ve still got a long time to go in the year. I’ll be back around the Round 15 mark so there’s still a lot of games to go and hopefully the team’s still going deep as well.”