Greater Western Sydney will have five senior players unavailable for their round one AFL game, with star midfielder Stephen Coniglio and key back Aidan Corr the latest to join the list.
Newly-appointed vice-captain Coniglio suffered a syndesmosis ankle injury in the Giants' pre-season clash with North Melbourne on Friday and is set to miss the first month of the season.
Corr, who was also hurt against North, will miss the opening round clash away to Adelaide with a hand injury.
They join recruits Brett Deledio (calf) and Matt de Boer (hamstring) on the Giants casualty list, while midfielder Lachie Whitfield is suspended until round eight for breaching AFL anti-doping rules.
The loss of Coniglio wlil be keenly felt as he was the Giants leading possession getter and contested ball winner last season.
Giants' head of athletic performance David Joyce said Coniglio would spend the next two weeks with his foot in a protective boot.
"We're confident that with the right treatment he'll be back on the field in a bit over a month," Joyce said."
Corr sat out the last three quarters of last Friday's game after landing awkwardly.
He will have his hand in a splint for the next fortnight.
Corr suffered an unusual injury to the capsule at the base of his hand, though scans revealed he didn't break a bone.
There was better news regarding the round one availability of three of the club's most important forwards, though two of them will be lighter in the pocket.
Key forward Jeremy Cameron was reported for striking the Kangaroos Scott Thompson during the final quarter of last Friday's game.
The Match Review Panel ruled the strike was intentional with low impact to the body,
With an early guilty plea Cameron can accept a sanction reduced from $1500 to $1000.
All Australian half forward Toby Greene was offered an identical reduced sanction for accepting an early plea, after he was cited by the MRP following a fourth quarter incident against North's Sam Wright deemed as misconduct.
Veteran forward Steve Johnson is expected to be available for round one after getting concussed in a clash of heads last Friday and not returning to the field after quarter time.
Share
