Alastair Clarkson says team results irrelevant compared to health of Jarryd Roughead

ALASTAIR Clarkson remains hopeful that star forward Jarryd Roughead can be a part of the team’s 2017 campaign.

Jarryd Roughead at the MCG. Picture: Getty Images

ALASTAIR Clarkson remains hopeful that star forward Jarryd Roughead can be a part of the team’s 2017 campaign.

Roughead missed the entirety of this season after a recurrence of melanoma, which has seen him embark on a 12-month course of immunotherapy.

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He has been suffering side effects of the treatment in recent months, but Clarkson said the team is keeping everything crossed that he will feature for the Hawks again.

But they’d trade every success to have him healthy again.

“He’s had some positive results to some tests over the last four or five weeks,” he said.

“Those drugs are doing some good work. He’s not out of the woods by any stretch, but we’ve been given some hope that it’s tracking in the right direction for him.

“But he’s still got a lot of treatment that’s required. We just cross our fingers.

“It’d be great if our boys could play with him again next year, but we’d rather finish 18th just to have his health back again.

Jarryd Roughead has been receiving treatment for melanoma. Picture: Getty Images

“We’ll continue to back him as much as we can in the next few weeks and until hopefully he gets the all-clear to resume his life as we know Roughy can.”

Roughead said last night that while the positive news is heartening, football remains a distant prospect.

“I don’t know,” he said on 3AW.

“I’ve had some positive news the last few weeks and the initial diagnosis was 12 months of this treatment, so whether or not we have to do that — 12 months would mean I’d be out until June — so I’ve got my head around that and anything else is a bonus.

“But footy does come second with this kind of thing. I’d love nothing more than to be out there but obviously health comes No.1 and I’ll just worry about that.”