Carlton forward Charlie Curnow’s knee injury worse than first thought
Carlton has been forced to drastically reassess Charlie Curnow’s injury prognosis, with the young gun facing the prospect of missing up to half the season after a setback after knee surgery.
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Carlton young gun Charlie Curnow may not play until the second half of the season.
The Blues conceded they don’t have a timeline for Curnow’s return.
The emerging star had an operation in November to repair a broken patella bone in his knee and has not started running.
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His brace has been removed and only recently started strength rehabilitation.
Initial prognosis said Curnow would be sidelined for three to four months, but that has been drastically reassessed to missing the first eight games and possibly the first half of the season.
“As we already communicated to our members and supporters last month, Charlie won’t be available for the start of the season,’’ Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd told the Herald Sun last night.
“This will likely mean a return to the field around the middle of the year.’’
The Curnow setback comes as the Blues defended a drinking session Curnow took part in at teammate Sam Docherty’s wedding on the Australia Day weekend.
Several Carlton players were spoken to by club officials following the wedding about their alcohol consumption on the day, although no player was disciplined.
Coach David Teague and some assistants were at the wedding.
The Blues have dismissed questions of double standards after the Silvagni brothers, Jack and Ben, were disciplined for drinking at a music festival while injured in November.
The club’s leadership group, headed by co captains Patrick Cripps and Docherty, imposed the sanctions on the brothers.
“The sanction imposed is based solely on the standards the player group are driving and will continue to do so,’’ Blues head of football Brad Lloyd said in November.
But the Blues stressed there was difference between the Silvagnis and Curnow and others because the brothers were drinking after suffering fresh injuries.
Jack had a back injury and Ben was battling a quad injury.
Curnow was permitted to drink because he was dealing with a long-term injury and alcohol would not affect his recovery.
Other players carrying injuries followed club protocol by not drinking at the Royal Botanic Gardens wedding.
Curnow, who turned 23 on Monday, played just 11 games last year because of injury and required an operation in October to correct the patella bone.
In November, the club said Curnow accidentally slipped on tiles while walking upstairs and sustained a separate fracture to his right patella.
“The recovery time for a fractured knee cap is typically 3-4 months,’’ Lloyd said at the time.
‘’It is unlikely he will be available for our pre-season games in late-February and early March.’’
The Blues fly to Queensland for a pre-season camp on Tuesday.
Originally published as Carlton forward Charlie Curnow’s knee injury worse than first thought
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