‘Tough pill to swallow’: AFL club cops brutal triple injury blow to key players

With round 1 of the AFL fast approaching, the injury news out of one club is just about as bad as it can get for a trio of star players.

St Kilda’s pre-season injury toll continues to mount with ruckman Rowan Marshall in doubt for round 1 and young gun Mattaes Phillipou to miss the first month of the season after scans revealed a stress fracture in his right leg.

The bad news for Phillipou comes after the club revealed Marshall was headed for scans to assess a stress fracture in his pelvis while also managing a back issue after Dougal Howard dislocated his shoulder during training yesterday with no clear timeline on his return.

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St Kilda football boss Dave Mission revealed Marshall had been on a limited training program and his immediate playing future is unclear.

“Rowan’s going for a CT scan tomorrow to assess the extent of a stress fracture in his pelvis,” Misson said.

“He’s been on modified duties since last week to assist with the management of the injury, but we’ll have a better idea of his recovery after the scan tomorrow.

“We’re hopeful that Rowan will be available for round 1 or soon thereafter.”

Mattaes Phillipou will miss the start of the season, with scans revealing a stress fracture in his right femur.

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Misson said 20-year-old Phillipou has been enjoying one of his best pre-seasons.

“This is an extremely disappointing development for Mattaes,” Misson said.

“It was clear he’d taken the lessons he learned last year into his off-season and came back ready to attack 2025.

Dougal Howard, Rowan Marshall and Mattaes Phillipou are all injured.

“Mattaes pulled up a bit sore on Friday, so we monitored his recovery over the weekend. His pain was still present on Monday, so we sent him off for scans that confirmed the diagnosis.

“He’ll be on crutches for the next couple of weeks, then we’re looking at 10-12 weeks of rehabilitation and reloading after that.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but Mattaes’ maturity and commitment is far beyond his years, and we’re sure he’ll tackle this period with the professionalism we’ve come to expect from him.”

Key defender Howard, 28, left the ground after receiving the injury in a standard marking contest during the session.

“Dougal is going for scans this morning, so we’ll await those results before assigning a return-to-play timeline,” Misson said.

“Recovery from an injury like this can really range from days to weeks, so we won’t speculate until we have that clarity.”

St Kilda ruckman Rowan Marshall is being sent for scans. Picture: Jack Cahill

 Hunter Clark (groin) is making strides, while Liam Henry (knee) has resumed portions of training, closing in on a return to full training in the coming weeks.

INJURY LIST

Clark, Groin, 2-3 weeks

Henry, Knee, 4-6 weeks

Tauru, Back, 4-8 weeks

Marshall, Pelvis, 5-8 weeks

Phillipou, Leg, 10-14 weeks

Howard, Shoulder, TBC

Dow, Knee, TBC

Originally published as ‘Tough pill to swallow’: AFL club cops brutal triple injury blow to key players