High Performance Manager Ben Serpell gives this week’s Injury Report ahead of the side's Round 20 clash against Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday.

This Injury Report is brought to you by nib. With nib, life could be potentially amazing.

Fresh off a 49-point win against the Eagles, Serpell was pleased with how the majority of the side pulled up.

"I think the boys really enjoyed going over a day earlier and getting on the time zone there, and it played out quite well," Serpell said. 

The VFL Tigers also competed in a scratch match over the weekend, giving players coming off the injury list some important football exposure.

03:16

"A few of our rehab boys went out and got a bit of footy exposure in a scratch match, so did Noah Balta. The boys came out of that really well," Serpell said. 

"We saw Harry Armstrong out there, getting some good gametime, and again, he is available this week, with Josh Gibcus also continuing his return to play, getting some good game time in that scratch match as well.

"Kane (McAuliffe) featured in that scratch match. He pulled up quite well for that, and we will see if he can get through training this week and hopefully make him available for this weekend.

"The upside to that scratchy as well was we were able to get some good gametime into Tom Lynch, so we can make sure he comes back in a couple of weeks fully prepared." 

Unfortunately, Seth Campbell has entered the concussion protocols due to a head knock in the second half of Saturday night's victory.

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL INJURY REPORT.

01:32

Seth Campbell: Concussion, 1 week 

"Seth has entered the protocols for concussion under the guidance of our doctor Jim Brennan, so we are hoping that he will turn around in 12 days, but as with all concussions, it's hard to tell," Serpell said. 

"He should be available for Gold Coast in a couple of weeks."

Josh Smillie: Conditioning, 1-2 weeks

"Josh Smillie's conditioning is going really well," Serpell said.

"I said last week that he was going to be one to two weeks away, but I probably won't adjust that time zone this week because there wasn't a lot of footy opportunity.

"He will train fully this week and hopefully next week. There is a plane to Gold Coast next week (AFL and VFL double header). If not on that, then we will expect to see him out soon after." 

Kane McAuliffe: Quad, Test 

"Kane featured in that scratch match on the weekend," Serpell said.

"He pulled up quite well for that, and we will see if he can get through training this week and hopefully make him available for this weekend."

Mykelti Lefau: Calf, 2-4 weeks

"Mykelti is going ok," Serpell said. 

"He probably didn't train as well as he would have liked last week. I probably don't want to change his timeline just now."

01:45

Liam Fawcett: Foot, 3-5 weeks

"Liam Fawcett is out of his boot and walking around," Serpell said. 

"Hopefully, we see him starting some running today, and hopefully see him again in the backend of the year."

Thomson Dow: Patella, 2-5 weeks

"Thomson Dow hasn't really progressed with that knee," Serpell said.

"We will keep monitoring him and see how he responds clinically, and also expose him to a little bit more work in the gym.

"Hopefully his knee doesn't keep swelling, but unfortunately, I can't really update anything on him at the moment." 

Campbell Gray: Knee, 5-7 weeks

"Campbell Gray came out of his brace today, so we will expect him to be training a little bit later this week," Serpell said. 

"Hopefully it will be a bit of straight line running this week or early next week, and a bit of change of direction soon after.

08:58

Samson Ryan: Foot, TBC

"Samson is finally getting through a fair bit of work as he progresses to running, without any adverse effects the following day," Serpell said.

"We will look to increase his load over the next little while." 

Sam Lalor: Hamstring, season

"Sammy is a committed athlete, and he went through surgery last week," Serpell said. 

"According to the surgeon, everything went well. He has been at the Club today, and he is looking at things that he can already start to do, so we are expecting him to be fully fit and ready to train fully as pre-season starts in early November."

Brought to you by

nib
Player Injury Estimated Return
14. Tim Taranto

14. Tim Taranto

Concussion Test

Taranto suffered a concussion in Round 6.

Read Article
49. Kaleb Smith

49. Kaleb Smith

Groin 1 week

Smith has been managing groin soreness since November last year and is now in a conditioning block.

Read Article
25. Toby Nankervis

25. Toby Nankervis

Hamstring 3 weeks

Nankervis injured his hamstring in the Round 2 game against Gold Coast.

Read Article
29. Jasper Alger

29. Jasper Alger

MCL 3 weeks

Alger suffered a high-grade MCL injury in Round 3 against Fremantle.

Read Article
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Foot 3-4 weeks

Sims sustained a ulnar collateral ligament injury in the Round 20 VFL game against Sandringham. Routine end-of-season medicals also found a navicular stress fracture in his foot.

Read Article
3. Dion Prestia

3. Dion Prestia

Calf 3-4 weeks

Prestia suffered an injury to his calf in Round 8 against West Coast.

Read Article
17. Maurice Rioli

17. Maurice Rioli

Hamstring 4 weeks

Rioli sustained a hamstring injury in the second quarter of Round 6.

Read Article
34. Harry Armstrong

34. Harry Armstrong

Foot 4 weeks

Harry Armstrong suffered a bone stress in his foot during the Round 3 match with Fremantle.

Read Article
6. Sam Banks

6. Sam Banks

Collarbone 4 weeks

Banks fractured his collarbone in three places during the Round 6 match with North Melbourne.

Read Article
13. Hugo Ralphsmith

13. Hugo Ralphsmith

Knee 4-6 weeks

Ralphsmith injured his MCL in Round 7.

Read Article
26. Zane Peucker

26. Zane Peucker

Syndesmosis 5-6 weeks

Peucker injured his syndesmosis in a VFL practice match on April 18.

Read Article
10. Taj Hotton

10. Taj Hotton

Hip 6-8 weeks

Hotton suffered a bone stress in his hip after the February 20 practice match against Essendon.

Read Article
23. Judson Clarke

23. Judson Clarke

ACL 7-10 weeks

Clarke ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during the Round 11 VFL game against Sydney last year.

Read Article
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Achilles 8-12 weeks

Lalor suffered a partial tear to his Achilles during a training session in the lead-up to Round 8.

Read Article
16. Josh Smillie

16. Josh Smillie

Quad TBC

Smillie sustained a small re-tear of the injury he acquired in February.

Read Article
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

Foot TBC

Mansell presented foot soreness to the Club in March and will undergo surgery to treat bone stress.

Read Article
18. Josh Gibcus

18. Josh Gibcus

Knee Season

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

Read Article
49. Kaleb Smith

49. Kaleb Smith

Smith has been managing groin soreness since November last year and is now in a conditioning block.

Read Article
Injury: Groin
Est. Return: 1 week
38. Tom Sims

38. Tom Sims

Sims sustained a ulnar collateral ligament injury in the Round 20 VFL game against Sandringham. Routine end-of-season medicals also found a navicular stress fracture in his foot.

Read Article
Injury: Foot
Est. Return: 3-4 weeks
6. Sam Banks

6. Sam Banks

Banks fractured his collarbone in three places during the Round 6 match with North Melbourne.

Read Article
Injury: Collarbone
Est. Return: 4 weeks
10. Taj Hotton

10. Taj Hotton

Hotton suffered a bone stress in his hip after the February 20 practice match against Essendon.

Read Article
Injury: Hip
Est. Return: 6-8 weeks
23. Judson Clarke

23. Judson Clarke

Clarke ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during the Round 11 VFL game against Sydney last year.

Read Article
Injury: ACL
Est. Return: 7-10 weeks
4. Sam Lalor

4. Sam Lalor

Lalor suffered a partial tear to his Achilles during a training session in the lead-up to Round 8.

Read Article
Injury: Achilles
Est. Return: 8-12 weeks
7. Rhyan Mansell

7. Rhyan Mansell

Mansell presented foot soreness to the Club in March and will undergo surgery to treat bone stress.

Read Article
Injury: Foot
Est. Return: TBC

Last Updated: