Young Richmond pair Judson Clarke and Campbell Gray each had scans on respective knee injuries this morning, suffered in yesterday’s VFL win against Sydney.
The scans have confirmed that Clarke has again ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee.
Gray has a posterolateral knee injury that does not require surgery. He is expected to miss some football, with a timeline for his injury to be clearer in the coming days.
Clarke, 21, was into his sixth game back from his previous ACL injury. He had been in strong form and was named among the AFL emergencies for yesterday’s game.
The popular youngster, who recently signed a contract extension for next season, had 27 disposals and booted two goals last week.
He had again hit the scoreboard and gathered eight early touches before the second quarter injury yesterday at Beaconsfield.
Gray, also 21, has impressed in all three of his AFL appearances this season playing as a key defender.
The mid-season draftee from last year, made the switch to defence in the pre-season after playing some impressive VFL football as a forward in 2024.
Richmond General Manager, Football Performance, Tim Livingstone, said it was a devastating blow for Clarke.
“Judson is a great character and has worked so hard behind the scenes to get himself back playing football and into fantastic form,” he said.
“This is such an unfortunate setback for Judson, and we are all so disappointed that he will not be on the field for a little while.
“He will have the support of everyone at Richmond to come back again from this and we know he will give it his all.”
Livingstone added that Gray would consult with Club medical staff over the bye before a further update, but was expected to return to playing over the coming weeks.
“Campbell will still require a period of rehabilitation, but we hope to see him back continuing his good form sooner rather than later," Livingstone said.
