Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin is hopeful star midfielder Christian Petracca is fit in time for next week’s semi-final after suffering a nasty hit to his calf during Friday night’s loss to Sydney.
Petracca was kicked in the calf inadvertently by Lance Franklin early in the match and looked visibly troubled by the injury for the remainder of the match despite finishing with 24 disposals.
Speaking after the 22-point loss to the Swans, Dees coach Simon Goodwin was hopeful the Norm Smith medallist would be fit for next week’s game against Brisbane.
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“He got a pretty significant kick from (Lance Franklin) just below the knee in the calf,“ Goodwin said.
“He’s just got a contusion that we’ll assess through the week, but he was pretty sore.
“Clearly, it limited his movement for the majority of the night. It had a bit of an impact on his game. But he‘ll get that right, reset and hopefully be all-clear and ready to go next week.”
SEN reporter Sam Edmund said on Saturday morning Charlie Spargo remained in hospital after a hit to the throat that saw him lose his voice.
Aditionally, forwards Bayley Fritsch and Jake Melksham are both set for scans for knee complaints.
Tom McDonald could be cleared for a return if needed, with the key forward training and playing with the VFL side last week.
McDonald has been absent from AFL level for more than three months due to a foot injury.
