Injury List – FEB21 2019

Few concerns here for the Lions, primarily that some of these injuries are to key defenders. Gardiner has resumed running again and should be available for round one. Although Adams is due back in a couple of weeks, he’s missed big parts of the pre-season and will likely need some more conditioning before he’s considered. Christensen suffered an ankle injury in the Lions’ intraclub and will be touch-and-go to play in the JLT series. – Michael Whiting 

New recruits McGovern and Setterfield will be fit for the JLT Community Series after battling injury-interrupted pre-seasons. Docherty and Pickett will miss most, if not all of 2019 with respective knee injuries. The club is hopeful Kreuzer will be fit to play in the JLT, but the likes of Lang, Marchbank and Macreadie are unlikely to feature. No timeline has yet been placed on their returns.  Fasolo is making a late dash to be ready for round one, having recovered quickly from a broken arm sustained over the summer. The Blues are being ultra-cautious with Williamson as he makes his comeback from a season on the sidelines. – Riley Beveridge

The main round one concerns are Hoskin-Elliott, who underwent knee surgery on Monday, and De Goey, who suffered a mid-foot sprain. Howe started running again on Wednesday, while Dunn and Broomhead also aren’t far away from full training. Wells has made a breakthrough in his recovery from the Lisfranc injury that sidelined him for the bulk of last season, but a longer term view will be taken with Scharenberg as he comes back from a third knee reconstruction.  – Ben Collins

Recurring calf setbacks for Bennell and veteran ruckman Sandilands, who has been absent from training for several weeks, are likely to impact the start of their 2019 campaigns. In positive news, star recruit Jesse Hogan is with the main group and appears to be over the navicular stress fracture which ended his final season at Melbourne in round 21 last year, seemingly putting him in the picture for round one, if not a practice game appearance. Conca should be back in full training soon after picking up a knee infection, and Freo can ill-afford to lose another experienced midfielder/defender after long-term injuries for Blakely and Hill. Key defender Joel Hamling pulled out of AFLX due to calf awareness but was back training fully on Monday. Nat Fyfe has been managing an inflamed bursa on his right elbow, but is expected to lead his Flyers team in AFLX. – Travis King

Aside from the luckless Wigg who ruptured his ACL in the Suns’ intraclub match, most players on the injured list are due back by round one. Corbett was in the frame for selection but is unlikely to get enough work in before the season starts and will most likely begin in the NEAFL. Ellis is making sound progress following groin surgery, but the club is taking a cautious approach with his return.– Michael Whiting

Greene, Haynes and Tomlinson are all aiming to play in one of GWS’s JLT Community Series games, with the Giants’ second match, against Adelaide on March 8, their most likely return date. Tomlinson is the most advanced of the trio, with the defender close to resuming full training. Greene has made steady progress since undergoing ankle surgery last November, but Haynes is taking longer than expected to overcome back soreness. Key forward Patton‘s rehabilitation from his third knee reconstruction has been going well and he will look to fast-track that process when he visits knee specialists in Philadelphia next month. Brett Deledio won’t play in Friday’s practice match against Sydney for management reasons, but the veteran is expected to be available for the Giants’ opening JLT game against the Swans on March 2. – Nick Bowen

The big name on the injury list is, of course, Brownlow medalist Mitchell, but six weeks after surgery on his broken leg he’s weight bearing again which is excellent news. His focus is now on 2020. New recruit Wingard will miss AFLX but is expected to be available for at least one JLT Community Series game as he builds up to a round one debut against the Crows. Veteran Birchall is edging closer to returning to full training in the next couple of weeks, but the Hawks are taking a cautious approach after three operations on his troublesome knee. The four-time premiership Hawk is aiming to make his return to football between rounds four and eight. Hawthorn won’t put a timeline on a Scully debut but there has been quiet optimism about his progress as he continues to increase his training loads and running. The Hawks’ first pick in last year’s NAB AFL Draft Koschitzke has had a minor setback with a finger injury but should be back in full training before the start of the season. – Nat Edwards

McDonald will miss the AFLX tournament following minor knee surgery but the forward is expected to play in the JLT Community Series. Kade Kolodjashnij remains in doubt for round one with a groin injury, while Jack Viney, Nathan Jones and Jake Melksham are set to join full training in the coming weeks. Jake Lever won’t be ready for round one and it appears Mitch Hannan – who had dual knee surgery in the off-season – will also be missing. – Ben Guthrie

Tarrant is in a race against time to be fit for round one, but North is confident its best key defender will be fit to take on Fremantle and lead a Roos’ defence that will be without Daw and Thompson, while fellow tall Durdin was ruled out for 10 weeks on Wednesday after suffering a deep cut to his little finger. Jacobs continues to complete a good volume of training but has not yet made a full recovery from an off-season sinus operation. The Roos won’t risk the run-with midfielder in games until he has completely overcome lingering symptoms of congestion and grogginess. Second-year midfielder Walker is making a frustratingly slow recovery from the PCL strain he suffered late last season, while North will approach Daw’s rehabilitation one step at a time despite the remarkable progress he has made since his fall from the Bolte Bridge in December. Jack Ziebell, Mason Wood and Jasper Pittard (all calf strains) returned to full training this week and are expected to play in the JLT Community Series. – Nick Bowen

Ollie Wines and Charlie Dixon are both highly unlikely to be fit for round one. Wines is set to return from a shoulder injury between rounds 3-4, while Dixon’s recovery from a broken leg and high ankle sprain is taking longer than expected. Robbie Gray should play some part in the JLT Community Series, as will half-back flanker Hamish Hartlett in his return from a torn ACL. Dan Houston and Kane Farrell, who were both rested from the Power’s intra-club trial last Friday, should be available for the JLT Series. Defender Trent McKenzie will play his first game back from shoulder surgery as an over-age player in the under-23 game against Adelaide on Saturday. – Lee Gaskin

A few lingering injuries rather than serious long-term issues for Richmond. Graham is back in contact training and should be right for round one against Carlton, while Caddy is in a similar boat, on light duties for a few weeks with a sore ankle. Castagna is another one who should be in the selection frame next month. Reports have said Lynch is unlikely to play JLT matches but is still in contention for round one. Garthwaite and Townsend have been dealing with niggling issues, moving in and out of the main training group and are on the fringes of Richmond’s best 22 regardless. – Sarah Black

Gun goalkickers Franklin and Menzel have had similar groin operations and are racing to be fit for round one, with Buddy further ahead. Important defender Smith is on a similar timeline to that duo. Ruckman Naismith will be unavailable for the first few weeks of the season after his knee reconstruction, and a further operation before Christmas, but shouldn’t have to wait long thereafter. Jones has done some match sim but isn’t with the main group on a full-time basis, and neither is Jack. Ling is confined to running and some skills work and remains some time away after surgery on a big toe that happened mid-2018. Tucker, a rookie, has done running and agility work but is yet to resume full training. – Dinny Navaratnam

Mystery surrounds Kennedy’s prognosis. The dual Coleman medallist was aiming to play in the JLT Community Series coming back from shoulder surgery but has been ‘de-loaded’ recently at training after pulling up with leg soreness and the club is now hopeful he is ready to go by round one. Cripps will miss the early rounds following toe surgery, while Venables and Ainsworth are yet to rejoin main training after their operations. Naitanui is ahead of schedule for a mid-season return, while Elliot Yeo (toe), Tom Barrass (foot) and Jeremy McGovern (ribs) appear on track to line-up in practice games. – Travis King

Jong’s high-grade hamstring tear sustained during match simulation last week will rule him out of at least the first month of the season. He went down in the same session Khamis strained his PCL. The Dogs are hopeful Johannisen will be removed from a moon boot this week after an ankle setback. Boyd’s ongoing back complaint has forced him onto a modified program, while Picken is yet to resume full contact drills with ongoing concussion symptoms stemming from early last year. – Mitch Cleary