Adelaide Crows defender Matthew Jaensch is suing a man who allegedly broke his jaw in a pub brawl, ruining his 2012 AFL season, a court has heard.
But defendant Andrew Bird, who once played amateur football against the Crows player, says Jaensch was drunk, acting aggressively towards rival footballers and had touched a woman inappropriately on the night of the incident.
Bird asserts his actions in punching Jaensch were reasonable and proportional.
Jaensch, 25, is seeking compensation over what he's described as the unprovoked attack at the General Havelock Hotel in Adelaide in October 2011.
His lawyer Stephen Wyatt told the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday that a missing piece of CCTV footage, important to the case, had been sought from police but may never be located.
Jaensch claims the injury, which required surgery to insert a metal plate, caused him to miss pre-season training and games in 2012 and sapped his enjoyment for life.
The case will return to court on October 26.
