CARLTON ruckman Matthew Kreuzer will miss the rest of the season after scans on Sunday confirmed he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Kreuzer went down with the knee injury in the first quarter of Saturday night's match against Fremantle at Etihad Stadium.

The club has not yet decided on whether Kreuzer will undergo a traditional knee reconstruction or whether he will undergo LARS surgery, but either option means he will not play again this year.

"We will look at all options available and make a decision in conjunction with Matthew and the medical team on the best treatment for Matthew's long term recovery," said Carlton's football operations manager Steven Icke.

Carlton will make a decision during ...
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ESSENDON defender Tayte Pears is set to miss up to two months of football after tearing his pancreas.

Pears underwent surgery on Saturday for a suspected tear to the pancreas after Friday night’s loss to Hawthorn.
 
Essendon general manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said that doctors found no tear but that Pears had a highly inflamed pancreas with bruising and bleeding.
 
Hamilton said the 20-year-old was in intensive care on Sunday morning.
 
"This is a serious injury and he has had a fairly major operation," Hamilton said in a statement released by the Bombers.
 
"The operation went well and it was great news that there was no tear. The doctors are confident he will make a full ...
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CARLTON is yet to discover the extent of the damage to star ruckman Matthew Kreuzer’s left knee but coach Brett Ratten isn’t expecting good news regarding the big man’s injury.

Kreuzer left the field 15 minutes into the first quarter of Saturday night’s match after landing awkwardly from a marking contest inside Fremantle’s forward 50.

The Blues lost the match against Freo by eight points, but the 14.12 (96) to 12.15 (87) loss may have far greater ramifications.

Carlton could be without its best ruckman for the rest of the season should scans reveal Kreuzer has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury - something Ratten said was a real possibility.

“We think it’s a [bad] knee,” Ratten said.

“We ...
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WEST Coast utility Mark Nicoski's season is over after the club opted to book him in for shoulder surgery next week.

Nicoski’s right shoulder popped out for the second time this season when contesting a mark against Richmond last Sunday and after consulting the club’s medical team, he has decided on having a shoulder reconstruction.

“I really didn’t have any choice,” Nicoski told westcoasteagles.com.au. “I could have gone through the rehabilitation process of recovering from the most recent injury, but it was probably only going to pop again if I received a solid knock.

“This season is over for me, but I can use the latter part of the year to build up the strength in the shoulder for pre-season training and ...
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MELBOURNE'S Liam Jurrah is set to make his long-awaited return from injury in the VFL this week.

Jurrah will line up for the Casey Scorpions against Williamstown this week in his first match since injuring his shoulder against Adelaide in the NAB Challenge.

After kicking 20 goals from nine games in his debut season last year, Jurrah quickly established himself as a Melbourne fan favourite and was much-hyped in the lead up to this season as an integral part of the Demons’ forward line.

Football operations manager Chris Connolly said the Demons were yet to decide on whether Jurrah would line up for Casey’s senior team or the reserves.

“We’ve been very conservative with his rehab,” Connolly told melbournefc.com.au.

“He’ll ...
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PORT Adelaide forward Jason Davenport says he expects midfielder Steven Salopek to shrug off concerns over a potentially season-ending shoulder injury and line up in the club’s must-win game against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Salopek vowed to play on after dislocating his right shoulder in the Power’s round 10 loss to Richmond, but coach Mark Williams suggested the unlucky 24-year-old’s season could be over when his troublesome shoulder popped out again last weekend. 

The club has opted not to book Salopek in for a fourth operation on his shoulder just yet, with the courageous onballer joining injured pair Brett Ebert (ankle) and Robbie Gray (hamstring) in a race against the clock to be fit for this week.

Davenport ...
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FREMANTLE coach Mark Harvey expects to get up to five of his best 22 players back after the mid-season break, with Saturday night’s clash against Carlton the final hurdle before his side recharges with a week off.

Midfielder Rhys Palmer will play this week after missing the side’s loss to St Kilda with an ankle/calf problem, while Jay van Berlo (ankle) and possibly Greg Broughton (foot) will be available.

After the important clash at Etihad Stadium, which will see Fremantle’s top four spot go on the line, Harvey expects to also regain Luke McPharlin, Chris Mayne, Des Headland and Michael Johnson, who is finishing a club-imposed six-week suspension.

“I’d like to think a week or two after the bye we’ll ...
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ESSENDON forward Mark Williams is set to miss a second consecutive week with a heel injury.

Williams, who has played just four senior games since crossing from Hawthorn at the end of last year, was rested last week after playing with discomfort for VFL side Bendigo Bombers.

Essendon football operations manager Paul Hamilton would not say how long Williams would miss but said the Bombers were being deliberately cautious with the management of the injury.

"It's one of those ones (injuries) that have been nagging him for a little while and it has probably gotten worse so we gave him the weekend off last weekend," Hamilton told Essendon’s website.
 
"He hasn't done much training this week so he is in some ...
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ADELAIDE
Brett Burton (knee) - TBC
James Craig (hamstring) - 1-2 weeks
Phil Davis (concussion/shoulder) - test
Trent Hentschel (knee) - test
Chris Knights (foot) - indefinite
Andrew McLeod (knee) - TBC
Brodie Martin (knee) - indefinite
Brad Moran (knee) - indefinite
Andy Otten (knee) - season
Daniel Talia (knee) - season
Will Young (knee) - 4-5 weeks

BRISBANE LIONS
Jed Adcock (foot) - 4-6 weeks
Callum Bartlett (knee) - season
Jonathan Brown (abdominal strain) - 4 weeks
Jamie Charman (ankle) - season
Xavier Clarke (knee) - 3 weeks
Josh Drummond (knee) - indefinite
Mitch Golby (knee) - season
Matt Maguire (foot) - 3 weeks
Ash McGrath (hamstring) - 4 weeks
James Polkinghorne (thigh) - 1 week

CARLTON
Chris Johnson (wrist) - ...
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WEST Coast utility Mark Nicoski will miss several weeks of football after injuring his shoulder in the Eagles' loss to Richmond last Sunday.

Nicoski suffered the injury in the third quarter, when his shoulder popped out of the joint.

The club is yet to put a time frame on his recovery but the West Coast website refers to him being unavailable "for at least the next few weeks".

Tom Swift is another in doubt for Sunday's match against the Western Bulldogs.

The young midfielder will be assessed after he was a late withdrawal for the Tigers' game due to illness.

The pair join an already significant casualty list for West Coast that includes first-choice players Daniel ...
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