The steps that could have minimised Darcy's ACL risk

The Western Bulldogs have lost their superstar key forward, with Sam Darcy suffering a full ACL tear in a non-contact incident against Geelong on Friday night.

The injury has ruled out Darcy for the remainder of the AFL season, however as reported by SEN’s Tom Morris, the incident could potentially have been avoided had the Dogs taken serious action in 2025.

Last year, Darcy experienced his first knee concern to the same left knee, suffering a hyperextension and a fracture during a contest against the Saints in Round 6.

Despite the option to operate, Darcy and the Dogs’ medical staff opted against it, with Darcy returning after just six matches on the sidelines.

As reported by Morris, that decision may have direct consequence on the injury suffered exactly 12 months later.

“I always tread very carefully with medical issues, medically contentious issues in particular,” Morris told SEN's Whateley.

“This one was certainly contentious this time last year, when Sam Darcy elected not to have surgery on his knee after injuring it at Marvel Stadium.

“He didn’t rupture his ACL, there was bone bruising, there was a hyper extension, and I’ve spoken to a couple of medical professionals this morning.

“The best way to describe what else is wrong with the knee, is it was like a divot in the knee. It was a dimple that you get when you injure your knee badly, and that’s quite normal for this sort of thing.

“Had David Young operated – he is the Western Bulldogs’ go-to guy – had he operated as he was prepared to do, they would have repaired that divot at the time. That would have been part of the operation on his knee.

“For a variety of complex reasons that I won’t go into today, Darcy decided not to have surgery. That was Julian Feller’s advice, who is also a guru in this space, and the divot healed over.

“I’m not saying that either was right or wrong, that is not my area. But what I am saying is, have a listen to Dr. Peter Larkins last year talk about Sam Darcy’s knee, what was wrong with it, and the potential ramifications if you don’t treat it properly at the time.”

“Imagine the bone getting bumped and dented in like that. To do that, you actually pretty heavily damage the cartilage, the protective cushioning on the bone.

“Going forward, the bone recovers, but when you talk about cartilage inside an ankle or a nee of a hip, the cartilage can peel off. That’s what arthritis is, when you lose bone protection.

“There is a potential, depending on when they look at it, they will see what the cartilage damage is, the bone will heal itself, but the ligaments are the things that can stay loose in the future.

“That’s probably more of the consequence – will he have further problems with the ligaments?”

“That’s what we are seeing 12 months on,” Morris continued.

“There is a medical view this morning that Darcy was more prone to a full ACL tear after he hurt his knee last year. He could have gone through his whole career without tearing his ACL again.

“If you don’t repair that divot, you (could) end up like David Schwarz – that’s what happened to him in the mid-90’s, and we saw what happened with his career.

“I just hope that the Western Bulldogs can repair this properly now, full ACL, get back in 12 months’ time.

“Last year, the medical view at the time was that it might be a risk worth taking, because they might win a flag, he gets back in six weeks and he plays on.

“But there was an element of risk carried with not going under the knife last year, and that’s an objectively accurate thing to say.”

Sam Darcy wasn't the only Dog to go down with an injury on Friday night, with James O'Donnell (hamstring), Rory Lobb (hamstring) and Tom Liberatore (concussion) all finishing the contest on the bench.

In positive news, the Dogs face the prospect of welcoming ruckman Tim English back to the side after time out with a knee injury. They face the Swans this Thursday night.