High Performance Manager Ben Serpell gives his injury update ahead of Richmond’s match with Essendon this Saturday night.
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Number one draft pick Sam Lalor re-injured his left hamstring on the weekend, which will see him miss the remainder of the season.
Similarly, wingman Hugo Ralphsmith also sustained an injury to his hamstring. Serpell confirmed that he won’t return to the field this year.
Devastatingly, key forward Jacob Bauer sustained an ACL injury in the third quarter of Richmond's VFL match on Sunday, which will sideline him for the remainder of 2025.
Both Josh Gibcus and Jayden Short made their return to football through the VFL after a prolonged time on the sidelines and played key roles in the side's thrilling five-point win against Geelong.
“It was great to see Shorty out there, and I think most of the fans in Melbourne would’ve heard his voice down in Geelong,” Serpell said.
“Gibbo coming back after a couple of years, I think everyone was excited about that, and we are looking forward to seeing him increase his game time this week.”
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Harry Armstrong: Hamstring, test
“Harry is doing quite well,” Serpell said.
“He is a test for this weekend, and as we said last week, he was ruled out of play due to an unrelated medical condition and he is a test for this weekend but unlikely to pass this test this week, to be fair, but hopefully we see him out there the week after that.”
Campbell Gray: Knee, test
“Campbell Gray, I can confidently say, is a test for this weekend,” Serpell said.
“Hopefully, we see him out playing this weekend.”
Josh Smillie: Conditioning, 1-2 weeks
“He is doing quite well. He got viral (illness) last week and missed out on a block of training, but has come back over the weekend looking quite well,” Serpell said.
“Last week, I said he was probably one to three weeks away, and he is probably going to be at the back end of that, and we will probably still hold on to that.
“Still about one to two weeks away, and we will make a call after that.”
Kane McAuliffe: Quad, 1-2 weeks
“Kane McAuliffe is progressing quite well, he is out there running fast and kicking a ball," Serpell said.
"We just have to get him involved in a bit more football, and that will happen over the next couple of weeks. He is probably around one to two weeks away.”
Jasper Alger: Ankle, 3-4 weeks
“Jasper Alger injured his ankle in the first quarter, and credit to the young lad, he got out there and saw out the game,” Serpell said.
“Unfortunately, he is going to be out for the next three to four weeks with a low-grade syndesmosis injury.”
Mykelti Lefau: Calf, 3-5 weeks
“Kelt's is starting to walk around pain-free and doing quite well, so I think last week we said four to six weeks, and I’m happy to say we will bring that forward a week,” Serpell said.
Liam Fawcett: Foot, 5-7 weeks
“Liam had surgery on his ankle last week for a syndesmosis injury,” Serpell said.
“We will bring him forward to five to seven (weeks), and we are hopeful that he can get back out for some game time at the back end of the year.
“We still have plenty of VFL games to go and hopefully VFL finals as well, so hopefully he can have an impact in that, but if not, we will look after him and set him up for a really good pre-season.”
Thomson Dow: Patella, 2-5 weeks
“Thomson Dow started running last week,” Serpell said.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t respond too well to that, so we are kind of back at square one with that.
“We are just going to continue to work with him and see how he responds clinically, and we will look to push him out, hopefully by the end of the year, but his timeline is getting a bit finer.”
Sam Lalor: Hamstring, season
“We are all devastated for the young man, and I am sure our fans are too,” Serpell said.
“After a strong, meticulous rehab, unfortunately, he did re-injure his hamstring. It is his third time on that hamstring and the second (occasion) with us.
“The injury mechanism here for Sam this time was very different to his original injury mechanism.
“He sustained the injury in a tackle. I think anyone who throws their body at the game (in the same way) as he did, and credit to him for doing that, is going to put their body at some risk irrespective of their injury history.”
Serpell said that the Club would explore surgical options to strengthen the structure of Lalor’s hamstring.
“We are a bit concerned about the integrity of the hamstring structure,” he said.
“As part of that, we will consult a few surgeons over the next little while to see if there is some surgical intervention available for us.”
Hugo Ralphsmith: Hamstring, season
“Hugo Ralphsmith sustained a hamstring injury late in the game and unfortunately for both of them (Lalor), it’s going to rule them out for the rest of the year,” Serpell said.
Jacob Bauer: ACL, Season
“Unfortunately, we did see an ACL injury for Jacob Bauer,” Serpell said.
“Sustained in contact in an aerial contest in the third quarter.”
Samson Ryan: Foot, TBC
“Samson started running this week and pulled up quite well,” Serpell said.
“He will have his next session coming up, and that plantar fasciitis is finally starting to settle, so we aren’t ruling him out for the rest of the year.
"We are still trying to set him up and will be happy to see him out there, hopefully soon.”
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