AFL Round 20 injury news: Follow the latest injury news from your club
Richmond’s Dustin Martin continues to make improvement from his serious injury, as manager Ralph Carr reveals how long he expects his star to remain in Queensland. Latest injury news.
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Richmond superstar Dustin Martin is likely to stay on the Gold Coast for at least another week as he takes “every precaution known to man” after suffering a lacerated kidney two weeks ago.
Martin was released from a Gold Coast hospital last Sunday but has not yet been cleared to fly despite recovering well.
The 30-year-old did not require surgery on the kidney but does need some ongoing medical attention and will not participate in contact training for at least three months.
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Martin’s manager, Ralph Carr, said on Friday the three-time premiership star would remain in Queensland indefinitely.
“Who knows — it could be next week or the week after,” Carr told News Corp when asked when Martin would be cleared to fly.
“You’ve got to understand the precautions on it are huge. He’s such a valuable player, probably the best player in the competition, so we’re taking every precaution known to man.”
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said Martin was “going OK” and was keen to return to Melbourne when he could.
“He’s still got some things he needs to tick off before he’s allowed to come back on the plane,” Hardwick said.
“I’ve got no doubt he wants to come back at some stage. He’s a Melbourne boy.
“At this stage he’ll be up there for a short period. We’re not sure exactly when.”
Floored Saint among four possible ins for Blues clash
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten is confident Hunter Clark will keep “putting his head over the ball” as he prepares for a playing comeback after suffering a broken jaw in a collision that put the entire AFL on edge.
Clark looms as one of four inclusions for the Saints’ must-win clash over Carlton, where victory could launch Ratten’s team into the top-eight by the end of Friday night.
Out of his 14 days of Covid isolation, ruckman Rowan Marshall is set to tackle the Blues, with Jack Higgins (back) and Tom Highmore (hand) also likely to return.
Clark’s jaw was broken in round 13 against Adelaide when a collision with Crows veteran David McKay put the future of the bump in the game on the line.
McKay was sent straight to the AFL tribunal but cleared of a rough conduct charge after the jury decided his actions were not unreasonable.
Ratten said Clark had put himself through enough contact drills at training in recent days to suggest he would continue to attack each contest with the ferocity the Saints have become accustomed to.
“Hopefully, he’s as ferocious as ever,” Ratten said on Wednesday.
“It’s a situation that can happen in your career and some people can take a little bit more time to get over it.
“I don’t see that he’ll have an issue with it. I think he’ll just attack the footy.
“Some players react a little bit different from a broken jaw and it can take a little bit of time, but he seemed to be pretty comfortable in that space.”
Marshall is back to partner veteran Paddy Ryder in the ruck having serve a period of isolation first in a hotel in Perth and then in an Airbnb.
Ratten was confident Marshall would be ready to go despite his unique build-up.
“He’ll be fine. Everybody has had a few chats with him. It’s not like he hasn’t had the contact,” Ratten said.
“He’s had a program to do, it’s quite unique what’s happened and how he’s had to deal with it, but he’s a professional and he’ll make sure he gets up and is fine.”
Hawks put a line through Gunston
Rebecca Williams
Hawthorn has officially put a line through key forward Jack Gunston’s season.
Plagued by a back injury for most of the year, the triple premiership Hawk has played just the one game this season – in Round 7 against St Kilda.
The Hawks confirmed on Wednesday the club’s reigning best and fairest would not play again this year and would now focus on his preparation for next season.
And the Hawks have also ruled young defender Will Day, who has not played since Round 15, out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Despite steady progress in training, the Hawks said Gunston, who underwent back surgery during the pre-season, had run out of time to make a return.
“Jack has made some steady progress over the last few weeks with his running loads,” Hawks physical performance manager Luke Boyd said.
“Unfortunately, we are probably not going to get enough time to get him back to footy with only four weeks left in the season, so we have actually made the call to leave Jack out for the remainder of the season and we will turn our attention to what we can do to get him right for the 2022 season.
“Will, similar to Jack, has had a good couple of weeks of training and has been able to progress … but given where we are in the season and with Will being a younger player and a player that’s going to have a pretty big future at this club, we have decided to take a conservative approach and keep him out for the remainder of the year.”
Young midfielder James Cousins is also set to miss three weeks with a hamstring injury after being subbed out in the last quarter of last week’s clash against Adelaide.
Luckless Cat in race against time
Glenn McFarlane
Geelong small forward Gryan Miers faces a race against time to return for the start of the AFL finals series after fracturing his right fibula for a second time this season.
As News Corp revealed on Monday night, Miers suffered the injury in last Sunday’s clash with Richmond and faces a number of weeks on the sidelines.
Geelong general manager of football Simon Lloyd confirmed the 22-year-old had injured the same leg he fractured in Round 7.
But Lloyd ruled out surgery and stressed he was confident Miers could return in the finals.
“Gryan has been incredibly unlucky, with what appears a minor re fracture of the previously healed bone,” Lloyd said.
“Our medical team have consulted with several specialists (on Tuesday) and determined surgery will not be required.
“We expect Gryan to undergo a similar path to recovery as earlier in the season and are optimistic Gryan will play football again in 2021.”
Miers had played 53 consecutive AFL matches from his AFL debut in 2019 to the Round 7 clash with Sydney when he suffered a hairline fracture of his fibula.
He came back through the VFL, but returned at AFL level in Round 16 and had played four games in a row before suffering a knock to the previous site of his right fibula fracture against the Tigers.
Miers, who recently signed a new two-year contract extension, remains a key part of the club’s premiership hopes, with Geelong eager to give him every chance of returning in 2021.
Fyfe ruled out for the season
Chris Cavanagh
Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe has officially been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in Melbourne.
Fyfe dislocated his right shoulder in Sunday’s 40-point loss to Sydney and posted a photo of himself in a hospital bed on Tuesday afternoon post-surgery.
“Disappointed I can’t finish the year with my team but relieved I can start healing,” Fyfe wrote.
“Will be right behind the boys for the rest of the year.”
Fremantle football boss Peter Bell said the surgery had “gone to plan” but Fyfe would remain in Melbourne for a “few days” as part of his recovery.
Fyfe was one of three key injuries for the Dockers on the weekend, with fellow star Michael Walters going down with a high hamstring injury and defender Alex Pearce suffering a concussion.
Bell said Walters’ hamstring was a “four to six week injury”, which is likely to also put him out for the rest of the season.
Fremantle is set to host Richmond at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
Teague loses two key Blues amid season crisis
Rebecca Williams
Carlton coach David Teague’s faint hopes of steering the Blues into the finals and securing his coaching future have been dealt a double blow with the loss of recruit Zac Williams and veteran Eddie Betts to injury.
As the Blues fight to keep their slim top-eight hopes flickering, key forward Harry McKay has been rated as an “outside chance” of returning for the Round 20 clash against St Kilda as he recovers from a toe injury.
But the prospect of a long-awaited return for fellow forward Charlie Curnow is alive after the Blues said his knee had pulled up well from a second match simulation on the weekend.
The Blues confirmed on Monday Williams would be sidelined for up to three weeks with a hamstring injury, while Betts will miss one to two matches with an ankle injury.
“Zac Williams injured his hamstring on the weekend … it’s a pretty low-grade hamstring and we expect him to miss two to three games, so we’re a good chance to see him right at the back-end of the season again,” Carlton’s director of high performance Andrew Russell said.
“Eddie’s ankle, he was sore initially but actually settled down pretty well. He was a bit restricted during the game but has pulled up pretty sore and swollen. We won’t see Eddie for the next week or two.”
The pair were injured in the Blues’ 39-point loss to North Melbourne last Saturday as their attack struggled without the Coleman Medal favourite McKay.
McKay was forced out of the clash against the Kangaroos with a jarred toe, ruling out a match-up against his twin brother Ben for the first time.
He still leads the league in goal kicking with 52 majors.
“Harry injured that toe versus Collingwood and was a bit slower (recovering) than what we thought last week. It’s starting to settle down now and he’s an outside chance to be playing this weekend,” Russell said.
Curnow has not played a senior game since Round 15, 2019, due to knee injury but has been building up to a return in scratch matches the past two weeks with increased game time.
The Blues said Curnow had impressed with his movement and how the knee had pulled up.
“Charlie played his second game (at the weekend). He had an increase in game minutes and we were pleased with the way he moved and more pleased with the way he has pulled up: his knee is great,” Russell said.
“He’s progressing really, really well.”
The Blues said Mitch McGovern (hamstring) should play some level of football this week after a “really good block” of training in the last month.
Dogs’ double blow, Cats hopeful on Selwood
Ladder leader Western Bulldogs’ defence has been dealt a blow in the charge towards the finals with backman Alex Keath ruled out for up to four weeks with a hamstring injury.
And the Bulldogs will also be without Ed Richards for their Round 20 clash against Adelaide after he suffered concussion against Melbourne.
It comes as midfield star Adam Treloar edges closer to a return with the club now listing him as one to two weeks away from a comeback from his ankle injury.
Keath, 29, was subbed out of Saturday night’s clash against the Demons and the Bulldogs have confirmed he has a low-grade hamstring injury.
“In the first quarter, Alex came to the bench with a hamstring injury,” Bulldogs head of sports medicine Chris Bell said.
“Although low grade, I expect Alex to miss the next three to four games of footy.”
Keath has been a general in defence for the Bulldogs and has not missed a game so far this season.
After an injury interrupted season, Richards will be forced to sit out the Crows clash due to concussion protocols.
“Ed was involved in a contest where he clashed heads. This caused him to have some concussion symptoms,” Bell said.
“Ed has come in well today and we’ll work through a process in the next 10 days or so to determine his availability.”
Veteran defender Easton Wood (ankle) could come into the selection frame as a replacement for Keath after getting through a scratch match on Sunday. Laitham Vandermeer (knee) also got through a half in the match scrimmage.
Bulldogs midfielder Josh Dunkley’s mandatory quarantine period will also end on Wednesday after he was linked to a Tier 1 exposure site following a visit to a local cafe.
Meanwhile, GWS Giants defender Phil Davis was cleared of serious injury after being taken to hospital after Sunday’s win over Essendon.
NOTHING MAJOR FOR CATS SKIPPER
Lachie Young
Geelong is hopeful captain Joel Selwood will be right to take on North Melbourne on Saturday but will monitor his progress in the coming days as he recovers from a corked thigh.
Selwood was withdrawn from the game against Richmond on Sunday during the third quarter after an incident earlier in the contest with the Tigers.
The Cats now face a six-day break ahead of their clash with the Kangaroos and football manager Simon Lloyd said Selwood would be given every chance to be ready for that game.
“He obviously received the quad cork in the contest early in the game and the injury became more challenging as the game progressed,” Lloyd said.
“We received a call from the medical team ruling him out halfway through the third quarter.
“We are only a day post-game and once he has had treatment we will see how he functions before we make any call, but we will see how he is tracking in the coming days.
“It is a shorter turnaround this week, so we will give him every opportunity to get up.”
Shaun Higgins was a late withdrawal against Richmond and will be available for selection against the Kangaroos, while Jeremy Cameron is progressing nicely and continues to push for a return before finals.
Midfielder Mitch Duncan has had the knee brace removed from his leg and is on track to be ready for finals and Lloyd said the club was pleased with where that pair was at with just four home-and-away games remaining.
PHIL DAVIS AVOIDS SERIOUS INJURY
Giants defender Phil Davis is out of hospital, having dodged a serious injury after copping an accidental knee in the back in Sunday night’s win over Essendon.
Davis managed to finish the match despite suffering the blow to his right side, where his kidney is, midway through the second term in an aerial contest.
The 30-year-old reported feeling nauseous post-game and had some lingering soreness, so medical staff made the decision to send him to hospital.
Tests cleared Greater Western Sydney’s former co-captain of any injury, paving the way for him to play against Port Adelaide this weekend.
The Giants are set to regain Toby Greene from isolation after he inadvertently attended a Covid-19 exposure site, while skipper Stephen Coniglio (toe) hopes to be available.
Matt de Boer, Kieren Briggs and Jake Stein will also emerge from isolation on Tuesday night.
But Adam Kennedy faces up to a fortnight on the sidelines with a low-grade hamstring strain.
Davis’ medical history meant there was genuine concern for his health, with a significant football injury seven years ago – described as comparable to what’s suffered in a car crash – resulting in him losing part of a kidney.
He required multiple operations at the time and was out for three months, including him suffering hallucinations, losing a large volume of blood and being in intensive care for eight days.
Coniglio withdrew before the Bombers match with toe soreness related to surgery he had in April that sidelined him for most of the season.
He made his AFL return from that setback and an ankle syndesmosis issue only the week prior, but was unable to complete Saturday’s Captain’s Run training session.
Coach Leon Cameron is optimistic about Coniglio’s status, but the midfielder will have to pass a fitness test to face the Power.
“We think he’s probably going to be OK next week – time will tell,” Cameron said.
“We need to get him right. It’s a fair injury he’s come back from, so we’ll be really careful.
“But I loved the way he went about it in the Swans game, so hopefully he can improve on that injury, train really well and give us a good option going into next week’s game against Port Adelaide.”
Matt Flynn had a left shoulder reconstruction last week that will sideline him for the rest of the season, but fellow ruckman Braydon Preuss (pectoral) could return within three weeks.
Callan Ward, who was going to be managed from Sunday’s game before Coniglio’s injury, could sit out the Power showdown.
TARRYN THOMAS RULED OUT
Hobart’s North Melbourne-Geelong clash has lost one of its drawcards with the Roos Tasmanian rising star Tarryn Thomas to miss.
Thomas has been sensational in the Roos resurgence, highlighted by his four-goal, 23-possession game in North Melbourne’s big win over Carlton on Saturday.
His starring role saw him earn seven votes in the AFL coaches association award, second only to seven-goal teammate Nick Larkey.
However, Thomas suffered a delayed concussion after the match and has been ruled out for Saturday’s Hobart fixture with the Cats.
While he was assessed and cleared to continue playing out the game by club doctors, Thomas later developed symptoms and subsequently enters the AFL’s 12-day concussion protocols.
North football general manager Brady Rawlings said it was disappointing but Thomas’ welfare is paramount.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose someone like Tarryn, particularly as he’s in red-hot form, but we always prioritise the health and wellbeing of our players,” Rawlings said.
“The concussion protocols are in place for a good reason and we will continue to monitor Tarryn closely, and hope he only misses one week.”
The 21-year-old is averaging a career-high 18 disposals, 4 marks and a goal in 2021.
Originally published as AFL Round 20 injury news: Follow the latest injury news from your club
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