AFL: Cody Weightman to undergo surgery after playing grand final with ankle injury

Cody Weightman is preparing to miss the opening weeks of the Western Bulldogs’ pre-season as he recovers from ankle surgery.

Sparky Western Bulldogs forward Cody Weightman may face a delay to the start of his pre-season as he recovers from ankle surgery.

Weightman, who goes under the knife on Tuesday, revealed he’d carried the ankle issue into the AFL grand final and throughout most of his breakout season.

“It’s nothing too crazy, but it’ll keep me out for a little bit. I don’t fully know (the recovery time) yet, because it’s my first one, but I think it’s about 10-12 (weeks) all up,” Weightman said on Continental Tyres AFL Trade Radio.

“It’s something I’ve dealt with throughout the whole year, but it was fine to strap and play with.

“It’s one of those ones you get fixed so it doesn’t bother me next year. It was just lingering a bit this year, so it’s just better to get fixed.”

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Weightman said he could be forced to change the way he trained as he recovered from the surgery.

“I’ve been an over-trainer in the past, so my challenge this year will be resting and rehabbing my ankle. It’s going to test me out having to sit down,” he said.

Cody Weightman was influential in the Bulldogs’ charge to the 2021 grand final. Picture: Daniel Carson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Weightman came into the 2021 season with only three senior appearances to his name but finished it as a stalwart of the Bulldogs’ exciting forward line.

Concussion kept him out of the preliminary final win over Port Adelaide, but he returned to the side for the grand final, which the Bulldogs lost to Melbourne.

Having finished the regular season in fifth place, the Bulldogs were made to take the long road and spend time in four different states on their way to the decider. However, Weightman doesn’t believe that was the reason the Dogs lost so heavily.

“It’s hard to know. We’ve become so good at being resilient and copping whatever comes our way,” he said.

“It wasn’t any different to what’s happened in the past few years. I think Melbourne were just too good on the day, really, and whether we travelled or not, they probably still win that game, unfortunately.”

The Bulldogs kept pace with Melbourne for the first half on grand final day but fell away emphatically midway through the third quarter. Picture: Gary Day/AFL Photos via Getty Images

Weightman said he was confident the Bulldogs had it in them to bounce back from the 74-point thrashing.

“The way we approach this will be interesting. I think we’ve got the group to go one better next year and I hope this can carry us further,” he said.

The Bulldogs will have to contend without Patrick Lipinski and Lewis Young in their quest to avenge this year’s grand final heartbreak.

Both struggled to cement spots in Luke Beveridge’s best 22 this season and have found new homes at Collingwood and Carlton respectively.