Injuries wreak havoc on AFL contenders

Scans are expected to confirm that luckless Sydney AFL defender Alex Johnson needs a sixth knee reconstruction.

Port Adelaide hope Paddy Ryder is available for their must-win match against Collingwood as AFL finals contenders deal with a horror weekend of injuries.

Scans are expected to confirm that luckless Sydney defender Alex Johnson needs a sixth knee reconstruction, while GWS veteran Heath Shaw has not given up on playing again this season despite his own knee injury.

Finals outsiders Essendon have several injury concerns ahead of their must-win game against Richmond and Geelong defender Zach Tuohy is confident a broken bone in his hand will not stop him playing against Fremantle.

Melbourne expect star ruckman Max Gawn to be fit for their big match against West Coast, despite a corked calf clearly affecting his mobility in the loss to the Swans.

Defender Jayden Hunt has re-injured his ankle and forward Jesse Hogan struggled during the match with a foot problem.

Injuries hit Port hard in their crucial loss to West Coast, with forward Charlie Dixon suffering a broken leg that has ended his season.

Dan Houston was cleared of major damage after being taken to hospital with a neck injury, while Ryder aggravated his hip flexor injury.

But the Power hope Ryder can recover in time for Saturday's clash with Collingwood at the MCG.

The Giants also lost three players in their win over Adelaide.

Shaw said immediately after the game that he will be out of action for about six weeks.

Apart from Shaw, star midfielder Josh Kelly was concussed in a tackle that is likely to mean a suspension for Crows captain Taylor Walker.

Sam Reid also suffered a hamstring injury.

Essendon were left without any fit players on the bench for the last quarter of Friday night's win over St Kilda after Brendon Goddard (knee), Cale Hooker (knee), Orazio Fantasia (hamstring) and Adam Saad (concussion) were all hurt.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world