A pair of young Western Bulldogs talls are battling injury concerns as Melbourne defender Christian Salem is cleared to return to play this weekend.
No. 2 pick Sam Darcy will be sidelined “for a period” after scans revealed a small hole in his lung, which the Bulldogs say is an uncommon issue and will be carefully managed.
It comes as fellow young forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan races the clock to be fit to face Carlton on Saturday night, after experiencing groin tightness against GWS.
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Western Bulldogs head doctor Chris Bell said the 21-year-old would be tested later this week, along with key defender Tim O’Brien, who missed the Giants game with quad tightness.
“When kicking his goal early in the first quarter, Jamarra had the awareness of some symptoms in one of his groin muscles,” Bell said.
“Sam (Darcy) reported the onset of some shortness of breath.
“Scans confirmed that he is suffering from a small hole in the lung that has leaked some air into the space between the lung and the chest wall. This has happened spontaneously and is non-traumatic which is uncommon.
“We have consulted with specialists, who expect this to heal and improve with conservative management and time.”
Demons defender Salem could play Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday after he was passed fit to return from a knee injury.
The classy left-footer has not played for the Demons this season after tearing his meniscus at training in March, just after he had overcome a thyroid issue that had interrupted his preparation over summer.
Melbourne high performance manager Selwyn Griffith said the 27-year-old had put together a “fantastic block of reconditioning” to build his case for selection.
“He’s been back training with the main group for two weeks now, completing full sessions,” Griffith said.
“(He completed) match-load running on the weekend, and he’ll train fully this week to be available for selection.”
The Demons confirmed back-up midfield bull Luke Dunstan strained his medial ligament in the previous round of VFL and he would be sidelined for three to five weeks.
Tom McDonald will return to training this week after he was forced out of the VFL with an ankle sprain, leaving only two other teammates with existing injury woes – young duo Kye Turner (groin) and Will Verrall (pelvis).
