Patrick Dangerfield sent to hospital after Port Adelaide loss
Geelong superstar Patrick Dangerfield will be forced to drive back to Victoria today after his horrific injury. Here’s what recent examples indicate for how long he will be sidelined.
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Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield has been hailed as “one of the toughest players in the competition” after he played out the second half of Thursday night’s loss to Port Adelaide with a partially collapsed lung.
The champion Cat could be facing a month on the sidelines after the injury, which included a cracked rib, and he spent Friday on the road driving back to Victoria as he was unable to fly.
Dangerfield was sent to hospital for scans on Thursday night, as he felt the effects of a knock to his side in a second-quarter contest with Power defender Dan Houston.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said post-match that the skipper had wanted to play on through the pain and “seized up” as the game wore on.
The superstar kicked a long-range goal in the third term but had just three possessions after half-time and looked hampered as Geelong was smashed in the midfield by a rampant Port Adelaide.
Geelong confirmed on Friday morning that Dangerfield had a partially collapsed lung and cracked rib.
He did not spend the night in hospital but returned to the team hotel late on Thursday night.
The Cats will assess his injury in coming days and weeks but could look to two similar AFLW examples for guidance on Dangerfield’s return.
Playing with Carlton in season six, Grace Egan suffered a punctured lung and two broken ribs when against Collingwood in round 1 and returned to the field 28 days later in round 5.
Port Adelaide’s Ebony O’Dea copped a partially collapsed lung in a practice match leading into the AFLW’s season seven and played in round 1 just 20 days later.
The injury soured Dangerfield’s comeback, with the Port Adelaide game his first in six weeks after dealing with a hamstring injury.
He picked up 11 disposals in the first half and Geelong was well on top of the bruising encounter when Dangerfield suffered his injury in the second quarter.
Cats defender Zach Guthrie said his skipper’s desperation to play through pain was inspirational.
“It was a pretty good effort from him, I think he is just one of the toughest players in the competition and he gets hit on a regular basis,” Guthrie said.
“For him to go back out there, he was still contributing throughout the game, it was a really good effort. I’m hoping he will be all right. He does a really good job at getting on with it and to come back out was a really good effort.”
Young midfielder Tanner Bruhn was also injured against the Power and will have scans on an AC joint injury in his right shoulder.
He also tried to play through pain in the second half but was eventually subbed out for Jack Bowes.
Ruck Rhys Stanley will play VFL minutes for Geelong on Friday night as he eyes a return against Melbourne duo Brodie Grundy and Max Gawn next week, while fellow big Jonathon Ceglar (adductor) is also likely to be available.
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Originally published as Patrick Dangerfield sent to hospital after Port Adelaide loss
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