Jason Johannisen could be out for at least eight weeks as Western Bulldogs sweat on scan results

WESTERN Bulldogs defender Jason Johannisen is likely to miss at least two months with a hamstring tendon tear.

AFL Round 4. Carlton v Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium. Jadon Johannisen on crutchers after game . Pic: Michael Klein.

WESTERN Bulldogs defender Jason Johannisen is likely to miss at least two months with a hamstring tendon tear.

The crushing blow to the Dogs’ top-four hopes is expected be confirmed by scans on Monday and comes a week after Robert Murphy’s season-ending ACL rupture.

The Dogs did not confirm the extent of the problem on Sunday, which could need surgery which would keep him out for four months.

But even a hamstring tendon tear that does not need surgery takes between 8-10 weeks to repair.

Johannisen had set the competition alight with his bursts from defence but ripped his hamstring kicking a long goal from outside 50m.

Ex-AFL doctor and sports imaging specialist Rohan White said the injury looked a certain tendon issue.

“When it goes as it did kicking at goal it is highly suggestive of a tear and grabbing his buttock means it is not only a tear but probably in the hamstring tendon,’’ he said.

“The need for scanning to see the extent of the injury is imperative. But it’s not a 21-day injury, it’s weeks.”

Jason Johannisen on crutchers after Saturday night’s game. Picture: Michael Klein

White said hamstring tendon surgery would mean at least three months on the sideline.

“If there is a significant tear of the hamstring tendon surgeons will more likely operate to get the strength and function back.

“The best way to look at a hamstring is like a feather. The central quill is the tendon which attaches the muscle to the pelvis and lower leg and then the muscle fibres run off the tendon.

“We used to talk about hamstrings being a 21-day injury. If you pull the tendon off the bone it needs immediate surgery.”

Dogs coach Luke Beveridge believes Tom Boyd (shoulder) and Matt Suckling (rolled ankle) will recover without missing a game.

The Dogs take on Brisbane, North Melbourne and Adelaide in the next three weeks at Etihad Stadium.

RICHMOND on-baller Brett Deledio will need to complete a full week at training to make a dramatic return to senior football.

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick is desperate to get his star on-baller back after a troublesome quad injury.

But he concedes he will need to train fully after only half a NAB Challenge game this year.

The Tigers could play both of their ruckman after Ivan Maric got through a second VFL game and Shaun Hampson pulled up well from a corked thigh.

Originally published as Jason Johannisen could be out for at least eight weeks as Western Bulldogs sweat on scan results