AFL Now: Latest updates, injury lists, tribunal and team news on Monday ahead of round 5
Collingwood will have to cover injuries to Jordan De Goey and Lachie Schultz for Gather Round – and possibly beyond – Melbourne’s season has gone from bad to worse.
Crucial Melbourne defender Jake Lever will undergo ankle surgery and could miss up to eight weeks in a crushing setback for the winless Demons.
The 29-year-old interceptor hurt his ankle in the round 2 loss to North Melbourne but was named to face Gold Coast days later before he was a late withdrawal from the side.
Lever has endured a difficult 12 months with a knee injury hampering his 2024 campaign and restricting him to 18 games.
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The premiership backman would have been a welcome inclusion to face Essendon on Saturday night, but Demons fitness boss Selwyn Griffith said specialists had recommended surgery.
“We’ve been looking to manage Jake conservatively, and he’s done a power of work to try to get up for each game, but due to a lack of function and continued pain, he hasn’t been able to do that,” Griffith said.
“As part of our management process, we sought some expert opinions. He saw a surgeon (on Monday) and, unfortunately for Jake, he will now undergo surgical intervention and he’ll likely be out for approximately eight weeks.”
Back-up ruckman Tom Campbell also joined a growing Melbourne injury list after suffering a hamstring injury in the VFL on Friday.
The Demons said he would miss two to three weeks, while defender Judd McVee remains one week away from returning from his own hamstring injury.
No. 11 pick Xavier Lindsay could return against the Bombers if he passes a fitness test on Thursday, after missing just one game following a twisted knee against the Suns.
Key forward Matt Jefferson (broken hand) will also be assessed ahead of a possible return.
Promising midfielder-forward Koltyn Tholstrup has been cleared to return to football, but the VFL bye means he will need to wait another week after overcoming a stress reaction in his back.
PIES DEALT DOUBLE BLOW AS DE GOEY, SCHULTZ RULED OUT
Collingwood has been struck by a double injury blow on the eve of Gather Round with Jordan De Goey and Lachie Schultz ruled out of Friday night’s blockbuster against Sydney.
Schultz is poised to miss multiple weeks after he suffered a hamstring strain at training on Sunday less than 48 hours after he delivered his best performance in black and white.
De Goey, who was subbed out in the final term of the 17-point win over Carlton on Thursday night, will be sidelined for the Swans clash with inflammation in both his ankle and achilles.
It came after Collingwood accepted star defender Dan Houston’s two-week suspension for a high hit on Carlton’s Lachie Fogarty, leaving the Magpies without three key players for the Adelaide Oval match.
A Collingwood spokesperson said De Goey would travel with the Magpies’ squad to Adelaide this week and then onto Queensland with hopes of facing Brisbane in round 6.
The club confirmed on Monday it would not return to Melbourne after Gather Round, instead flying straight to the Gold Coast to train at Southport in the days leading up to the Lions game.
“Jordan De Goey will be ruled out of Collingwood’s round 5 match … as he recovers from right ankle and achilles inflammation,” Magpies fitness boss Jarrod Wade said.
“De Goey will be assessed leading into the side’s round 6 match against Brisbane.”
Schultz, whose 18-disposal, two-goal performance earnt him the Richard Pratt Medal as best afield on Thursday, suffered a minor strain as he attempted to gather a ground ball during a training drill, the Magpies said.
Will Hoskin-Elliott, Lachie Sullivan and Ed Allan loom as the most likely replacements for the Magpies’ experienced trio, while out-of-favour 23-year-old Finlay Macrae could also enter calculations following a strong performance in the VFL on Sunday.
Harry Perryman could move into the backline to cover the loss of Houston, but the Magpies also have an array of rebounding defenders available in Tew Jiath, Jakob Ryan and Wil Parker.
The Magpies plan to stay on the Gold Coast for several days before training in Brisbane the day before their Thursday night clash in round 6.
DOCKERS LOOKING FOR SOLUTIONS TO JACKSON INJURY
A Tuesday sitdown could decide whether injury prone ruck Sean Darcy is rushed back in by Fremantle to face Richmond as Justin Longmuir weighs up how to replace hamstrung ruck Luke Jackson.
Jackson will miss multiple weeks after suffering a low-grade hamstring injury against the Western Bulldogs, forcing the tall to sit on the bench as the Dockers just held off the Dogs.
Without Jackson, the Dockers had to push Patrick Voss into the ruck and Longmuir will now consider whether to bring Darcy back in after knee and ankle troubles have hindered his early season.
Both Nathan O’Driscoll (ankle) and Corey Wagner (calf) also failed to see out the win over the Dogs.
The injury riddled ruck has been carefully managed by Fremantle in an effort to make sure he can see out the season when he returns.
Alternatively, Fremantle could look to Liam Reidy to ruck, with the rookie unseen since he was dropped after battling in round 1.
“We just have to weigh up whether it is the best thing for him at the moment,” Longmuir said of Darcy on AFL 360.
“It is definitely going to be the best thing for the team this week but we have got to also factor in when he is back we want him to stay back.
“We haven’t made that call yet, I will have a good chat to him (on Tuesday) and see where his mind is at and go from there.”
Powerful ruck Darcy played just 12 games last year as his brittle body wore down and has played more than 15 games in a season twice from eight attempts.
Originally published as AFL Now: Latest updates, injury lists, tribunal and team news on Monday ahead of round 5
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