SEN’s Chief Sports Reporter Sam Edmund has provided an injury update on some big names with the 2021 season just around the corner.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, Edmund gave the latest on Ben Cunnington, Adam Treloar, Lachie Neale, Charlie Curnow and Michael Hurley.
Ben Cunnington
“That was concussion in the end that he’s been diagnosed with in the intra-club match last Friday.
“He copped that elbow to the back of the head.
“It’s the first concussion that we know of since the AFL announced those new 12-day guidelines, so a 12-day rest period will keep Ben Cunnington sidelined until February 24, a day before the Roos’ first practice match against St Kilda at Arden Street.”
Adam Treloar
“I think any time you see the words Treloar and calf in the same sentence you’re right to be concerned, we know the soft tissue history there.
“They (Western Bulldogs) are saying it’s a proactive approach, but this is what clubs do, they play it down.
“He hasn’t taken part in any of the match simulation yet, they’re hopeful of getting him up to training over the next couple of weeks, that being full training.
“We know their first practice match is coming up in a couple of weeks, he misses that one of course, and you would have to say he's in doubt for Round 1, even though they are saying he’s on track.”
Charlie Curnow
“It feels like déjà vu here.
“They still can’t put a timeline on it other than to say he won’t be ready early in the season and that he’s tracking well.
“He did go to a new surgeon this time to get to the bottom of these knee issues, these patella issues.
"He went away from the orthopaedic route to more of a fracture specialist.”
Lachie Neale
“He hasn’t taken part in the first two intra-clubs at the Lions.
“They say he’s progressing well and ready to resume full training this week, but that one has been a bit of an interrupted pre-season for Lachie Neale.
“He hasn’t taken part in any match sim.”
Michael Hurley
“This is a really serious one and a fascinating one at the same time.
“Basically, he was released from hospital on Sunday February 7, he had planned to go home and recover for a week.
“He had gone in for hip surgery – I was told it wasn’t a routine cleanout, it wasn’t a straightforward job – then the infection has spread down to his right leg, it’s flared up again.
“He went back into hospital on the Saturday just gone for another operation, they’ve had to open him up again to try and find what's going on.
“They’re trying to find the right antibiotics to treat this infection that’s got out of control.
“There’s no way he’s playing Round 1. Who knows when he can get himself right?
“Football is well and truly on the back burner.”