Dual AFLW premiership player and sports physiotherapist Libby Birch uses skills from both her professions to analyse some of the biggest injuries in football and how they will impact players and clubs.
Round three was a big one for injuries, both on and off the field. Collingwood have ruck woes to deal with after Darcy Cameron went down against the Tigers, while Adam Simpson was left with his head in his hands thanks to the absolutely brutal western derby that decimated West Coast on Sunday.
There were some setbacks and developments for recovering players too. Magpie Jeremy Howe is back in hospital with a reported infection, something that was always going to be a risk with the compound arm fracture that he sustained in round one. Jack Steele underwent a successful surgery this week on his collarbone, which is good news for St Kilda fans.
Darcy Cameron left, is out for six to eight weeks after hurting his MCL.Credit:Getty
From here there are some crucial outs for round four but equally some exciting ins that will bolster some teams’ chances of success.
Collingwood
The talking point of Collingwood’s match against Richmond on Friday night was the Pies’ ruck blow. Late in the game Cameron contested for the ruck, landing with his knee twisting inwards. He grabbed at the left knee and came straight off and down to the rooms. It was quite a similar incident to Max Gawn’s injury the previous week, not much in it from a force point of view, but unfortunately all it takes is the wrong angle and lengthy medial injuries can occur. The Pies were already without big man Mason Cox, leaving them with a hole to fill in the ruck in round four.
LIKELY REHAB Cameron will likely be in a brace for a week to give the damaged ligament time to heal, before getting into some highly intensive single leg strengthening exercises. Straight line running will be the first progression. Change of direction will come in the later weeks of his recovery. Ruck and key forward Cox is still recovering from a haematoma, a bleed on the ribs. He will be on light duties at training, the main risk being a re-bleed if he returns to contact too quickly. It is more than likely that we will see him out for at least another one to two weeks and when he does, I would say he will wear a guard around the ribs. The priority for Cox is the body healing this internal wound. The infection for Howe will push his rehab back at least two weeks. The nature of the wound meant that there was always a chance for bacteria to enter the body at the site and cause an infection. He will have been receiving an intravenous course of antibiotics to clear this up.
LIKELY EFFECT It is a huge loss for Collingwood to have no pure rucks available for selection. Cameron has been on fire for the Pies early in the season. He is currently the No.1 ruck for contested ball wins in the competition, and with the addition of Tom Mitchell in the midfield this has driven the new and improved Pies. With back-up rucks in Aiden Begg and Nathan Kreuger also injured, Daniel McStay might have to take the ruck, leaving another hole to fill up forward. Billy Frampton (200 centimetres), who has just found his groove in the back line, could also be a ruck option.
St Kilda
Ross Lyon’s personnel crisis is set to deepen with Jimmy Webster and Mason Wood the latest St Kilda players nursing injury concerns from the weekend’s win over Essendon. With one third of the squad out with medium- to long-term injuries, the Saints’ medical and high-performance staff are under pressure. Webster, returning from a hand injury, was forced off the field after a head clash with teammate Dougal Howard. Although not confirmed, a fracture to his cheekbone is highly likely due to the impact. Wood, who is the only player to have recorded 20-plus disposals and a goal in each of the first three matches of 2023, played the game out with a suspected AC joint injury. He was in a sling and had the shoulder heavily iced after the game, suggesting a small to medium strain of the AC ligaments. Wood was initially pessimistic in the rooms on Saturday night, but Lyon was more circumspect in his post-match press conference.
Mason Wood. Credit:Daniel Pockett, Getty
LIKELY REHAB Steele’s surgery is reported to have been successful, his broken collarbone likely to have been held in position with plates and screws. This week’s rehabilitation plan would have been about starting to gain some range of motion back in his shoulder after surgery. He is at least four weeks away. If Webster has a facial fracture, he could be out for up to a month; facial injuries are treated very conservatively. If Wood’s AC joint is deemed a low-grade sprain, Lyon and the St Kilda medical team could decide to play him heavily strapped. A grade two strain would be a four to six week injury, and if the medicos find a complete tear, Wood will need surgery to help heal the damage. Steele missed seven weeks with a similar injury last season.
LIKELY EFFECT If Wood isn’t selected, Jack Bytel played a tremendous game on his return from a knee infection in the VFL on Sunday and is a likely replacement. Star forward Max King (shoulder), Tim Membrey (knee), Zak Jones (Achilles), Jack Billings (leg), Jack Hayes (foot) and Nick Coffield (calf) are among those still sidelined for up to at least five more weeks.
West Coast
The Eagles had no players left to rotate off the bench in the final quarter of the derby on Sunday. Five players went down with serious injuries throughout the match. Frustrated skipper Luke Shuey was left punching the wall on the bench after sustaining a reported hamstring injury. The 32-year-old, who has suffered several soft tissue injuries to his calves and hamstrings over the past few years, was visibly frustrated. With this type of extensive soft tissue history, we wouldn’t expect to see the skipper back inside two-four weeks.
Luke Shuey. Credit: Daniel Carson, Getty
Defender Jeremy McGovern stopped dead in his tracks, grabbing at the high left hamstring after decelerating from a contest. He limped off in the hands of the trainers, which suggests it may be as severe as a grade two strain, with some tendon involved due to the position of the strain. This will likely need at least four to six weeks of rehabilitation. Both players will be sent straight for scans to determine the extent of the muscle tears.
Jamie Cripps got his left ankle stuck underneath a Fremantle player while changing direction on Sunday night. It was the twisting motion of the foot that was in a fixed position, with vertical force applied from another player in this case, that left Cripps’ ankle in a very vulnerable position. Cripps was unable to weight bear, a telltale sign of a break. Depending on whether the fracture is out of place (displaced) or not out of place (non-displaced), Cripps may need surgery, or a cast and moon boot respectively. Regardless, it could be eight weeks before we see Cripps back out on the field. Defender Alex Witherden, who was injured while spoiling, will most likely be in concussion protocols for 12 days. High-flying Liam Ryan landed awkwardly in a marking contest, though his injury is yet to be confirmed.
LIKELY REHAB Both Shuey and McGovern will likely spend the next one to three weeks protecting the healing hamstring tissue, with progressive strengthening exercises until they have full range of motion and no pain on a hamstring strength test. To keep their fitness up, both players will be put through “off legs” conditioning – stationary bike, ski ergo, etc. Straight line running can usually happen pretty early in the recovery process. Depending on whether Cripps needs surgery, he will need at least four weeks off his legs to heal the fractured bone in his foot. He will likely continue to spend time in the gym doing single leg exercises and upper body work, as well as stationary skills work.
LIKELY EFFECT Simpson hasn’t been willing to risk premiership midfielder Elliot Yeo too early in the season after he suffered a calf injury, but he might be forced to play him in next Sunday’s clash against Melbourne. Fourteen AFL-listed players played in the WAFL scratch match against Subiaco, which is good news for Eagles fans, with recalls imminent. Tall defender Harry Edwards would be a likely replacement for McGovern. Midfielders Greg Clark and youngster Jai Culley are likely to push their cases, having played an exceptionally good match on Saturday. Regardless, they will be without their skipper Shuey, who is their barometer in the midfield.Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
