High Performance Manger Ben Serpell gives an in-depth Injury Update ahead of Richmond's Round 6 clash with the Gold Coast Suns at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

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“Not the result we were after, but the boys were pretty fatigued out there," Serpell said about the loss to Fremantle in Gather Round.

“It was pretty hot and there was a bit of travel involved but they’re pretty good today, so happy to see them around.”

Defender Nick Vlastuin was taken from the ground in the fourth quarter of the game in the Barossa after a run-in with Fremantle’s Patrick Voss left him with a broken nose.

Despite the incident, Vlastuin passed all concussion tests, with Serpell confident he will be right to play this week.

“Broken nose for him (Nick Vlastuin), I’m sure his girlfriend’s not too happy but doing ok otherwise,” Serpell said.

03:29

Veteran forward Tom Lynch was subbed out at three quarter time in a move to manage his minutes.

“We used that as an opportunity to manage him and get some younger players on the field," Serpell said.

“They are coming into a six-day turnaround and a five-day turnaround after that.

“He is really important for our team so we wanted to look after him where we could.”

Harry Armstrong: Hamstring, 11-13 weeks

“Unfortunately, Harry (Armstrong) landed in a position following a contest with Campbell Gray and sustained a hamstring injury," Serpell said.

“It was on the higher end of things, so we’ll take our due diligence with him and look after him like we have with our other young players and all of our players for that matter.

“We’ll seek second and third opinions just to make sure that our management is spot on for him and look at it as an opportunity for Harry to come back even better, bigger, faster, stronger.”

Sam Lalor: Hip, Test

“Sammy (Lalor) will be a test this weekend," Serpell said.

“Unfortunately, he pulled up sore following our game against Brisbane where he got a little bit more midfield time.

“Another day or two he probably would have been alright to go but we will look after him and he will be a test this week.

“He will get through training tomorrow and hopefully be available and a topic for discussion at the selection table later in the week.”

Kane McAuliffe: Foot, Test

“Similar to Sam Lalor, Kane will be a test this week," Serpell said.

“He will get through training tomorrow and hopefully we can put him out there on the weekend at some level.”

Liam Fawcett: Concussion, Cleared 

“Liam got through the (VFL) game well and he'll be available for selection this week,” Serpell said.

02:18

Rhyan Mansell: Shoulder, 1 week

“Rhyan is tracking pretty well," Serpell said.

“He’ll be ready to return to play as soon as his ban is over and we’re looking forward to getting him back out there.

“He came to Adelaide and put some solid training in over there and had a good time with us over there as well.”

Dion Prestia: Achilles, 3-4 weeks

“Dion’s Achilles injury is still progressing slowly, so we will still take our time with him," Serpell said.

“At this stage, we will see how we are going to manage him closer to returning near the bye.

“He is still a few weeks away, but he’ll obviously come back with limited game time when he’s ready to go.”

Judson Clarke: ACL, 1-2 weeks

“Happy to say that Judson’s only 1 to 2 weeks away and hopefully we will see him out playing soon, coming back through the VFL," Serpell said.

“He’s excited about that, as is everyone else at the Club. Hopefully next week we will have an update and a return.”

Mykelti Lefau and Tylar Young: ACLs, 6-9 weeks

“Tylar is similar to Mykelti and hopefully by next week, we will have the opportunity to give the amount of weeks away for him," Serpell said.

Taj Hotton and Josh Gibcus: ACLs, TBC

“In terms of Taj, we are still managing him as we have been all year. We will look at him conservatively and as he increases his football loads, we will give more updates then. The same goes for Josh Gibcus,” Serpell said.

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Player Injury Estimated Return
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Knee Unavailable

Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.

Read Article
29. Jasper Alger

29. Jasper Alger

Ankle Unavailable

Alger has pulled up with some ankle soreness after the Round 21 VFL game.

Read Article
21. Noah Balta

21. Noah Balta

Toe Season

Balta injured his toe after an awkward landing during a contest in Round 19.

Read Article
22. Sam Cumming

22. Sam Cumming

Ankle/Shoulder Season

Cumming suffered a moderate grade syndesmosis injury in a tackle during Round 21. The ankle injury will not require surgery, but the Club will take the opportunity for him to go in and have his shoulder operated on.

Read Article
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

Foot Season

The Club sought specialist opinion regarding Rhyan Mansell's foot soreness leading into Round 21. Following their assessment, the Club has made the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Read Article
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Toe Season

Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.

Read Article
49. Kaleb Smith

49. Kaleb Smith

Quad Season

Smith sustained a quad strain in the July 19 VFL game.

Read Article
2. Jacob Hopper

2. Jacob Hopper

Ankle Season

Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.

Read Article
8. Jonty Faull

8. Jonty Faull

Back Season

Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.

Read Article
18. Josh Gibcus

18. Josh Gibcus

Knee Season

Gibcus sustained an ACL sprain in the VFL Round 5 game.

Read Article
16. Josh Smillie

16. Josh Smillie

Quad Season

Smillie and the Club are entirely focused on setting him up for a full pre-season.

Read Article
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.

Read Article
Injury: Knee
Est. Return: Unavailable
22. Sam Cumming

22. Sam Cumming

Cumming suffered a moderate grade syndesmosis injury in a tackle during Round 21. The ankle injury will not require surgery, but the Club will take the opportunity for him to go in and have his shoulder operated on.

Read Article
Injury: Ankle/Shoulder
Est. Return: Season
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

The Club sought specialist opinion regarding Rhyan Mansell's foot soreness leading into Round 21. Following their assessment, the Club has made the decision to rule him out for the remainder of the year.

Read Article
Injury: Foot
Est. Return: Season
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.

Read Article
Injury: Toe
Est. Return: Season
2. Jacob Hopper

2. Jacob Hopper

Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.

Read Article
Injury: Ankle
Est. Return: Season
8. Jonty Faull

8. Jonty Faull

Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.

Read Article
Injury: Back
Est. Return: Season

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