A potential complication has arisen in the race for Ben McKay as rival clubs close in on the North Melbourne defender.
McKay has been destined to depart Arden Street for several months, with Essendon and Hawthorn now the two front runners for his services.
Seven’s Mitch Cleary reports medical tests, standard practice for a player joining a new club, have uncovered a knee issue.
“It’s my understanding there has been some question marks raised around the medical and a potential knee and what that looks like in the long term,” he told Seven’s Talking Finals.
A development in the Ben McKay sweepstakes - @cleary_mitch reports that, following a medical, there's a query around the Kangaroo defender's knee. pic.twitter.com/RB1EQyYs70
— 7AFL (@7AFL) September 20, 2023
“Not enough, I don’t think, to change or alter the deals in front of Ben McKay but it is just a query as this continues to drag on and we await an answer from Ben McKay on what his future looks like.”
McKay suffered a medial ligament injury in 2022 that saw him miss three games, while he missed four games earlier this year with a stress injury in his right foot.
The 25-year-old has been at North Melbourne since 2015 but is exploring his options.
AFL Media’s Cal Twomey broke the news on Wednesday that Sydney has dropped out of the race for McKay.
“We reported on AFL.com.au this morning and on Gettable today as well, that Sydney's not any part of that race anymore,” Twomey said at the AFL Trade Radio launch.
“It's a two-horse race now between Hawthorn and Essendon. That's a decision that he'll make in coming time.
“Obviously, he's taken his time to get to this point. He's met with these clubs multiple times and had medicals with all these clubs.
“He's out of North Melbourne. We all know that they'll get a first-round compensation pick for him.
“I think we all expect that as well at the top of the draft. It's just a matter of where because both those clubs are pretty keen to get him.”
The Kangaroos are expected to net band one compensation for McKay’s departure as a free agent, meaning Alastair Clarkson could head to the 2023 National Draft armed with picks two and three.
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