High Performance Manager Ben Serpell gives his Injury Report ahead of Richmond’s clash with North Melbourne this Sunday.
This Injury Report is brought to you by nib. With nib, life could be potentially amazing.
Coming off a narrow loss to St Kilda over the weekend, Serpell took positives knowing that no injuries were sustained during the contest.
“The AFL side pulled up quite well,” Serpell said.
“It (the result) was disappointing, but as a whole, from an injury perspective, we are pretty happy with how we came out.”
Unfortunately, in the VFL win over Sandringham, key forward Tom Sims left the ground after sustaining an injury to his elbow.
Sims had scans earlier this week confirming that he will not need to undergo surgery. However, he will miss the remainder of the 2025 season.
CHECK OUT THE FULL INJURY REPORT BELOW.
Injury Report: Round 23
Ben Serpell provides an update on the injury list before our Round 23 clash against North Melbourne.
Tom Sims: Elbow, Season
“Sadly, for Simsy, that will end his season,” Serpell said.
“Essentially, he sustained a ulnar collateral ligament, similar to the MCL in your knee that Jonty (Faull) sustained, but it is in his elbow.
“Thankfully, he doesn’t have to have surgery, so he will be fine and ready to go for day one of pre-season.”
Liam Fawcett: Ankle, Test
Oliver Hayes-Brown: Hamstring, Test
“There are a couple of guys that we are happy to bring forward this week,” Serpell said.
“Liam Fawcett and Ollie Hayes-Brown, we are going to put them on tests this week, and hopefully we can get some gametime into them this week.”
Mykelti Lefau: Calf, 1-2 weeks
“Mykelti is going really well now, and we suspect to see him ready to play in about one to two weeks,” Serpell said.
Hostplus Performance Quiz - Broad, Hopper and Short
Nathan Broad, Jacob Hopper and Jayden Short test their skills in the Hostplus Performance Quiz.
Campbell Gray: Knee, 1-2 weeks
Samson Ryan: Foot, 1-2 weeks
“Campbell Gray and Samson Ryan have progressed a fair bit this week,” Serpell said.
“Happy to say that we can bring their return to play forward a little bit...one to two weeks.
“Hopefully we can get a little bit more game time in for both by the end of the year.”
Kane McAuliffe: Quad, 2-4 weeks
“He is going well, just standard really, so we are expecting him out ready and available to play in two to four weeks,” Serpell said.
Josh Smillie: Quad, 3-6 weeks
“As we reported last week, Josh Smillie came off the track a little bit sore a couple of weeks ago,” Serpell said.
“Subsequent scans last week revealed a minor quad strain.
“It’s not too serious, and we are hoping to see him out running around doing a little bit of training this afternoon, and we aren’t ruling him just yet that he can get a little bit of gametime in VFL at the backend of the year.”
Brought to you by
| Player | Injury | Estimated Return |
|---|---|---|
|
21. Noah Balta |
Toe |
Round 23-24
Balta injured his toe after an awkward landing during a contest in Round 19. Read Article |
|
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 |
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 |
Toe |
Season
Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free. Read Article |
|
49. Kaleb Smith |
Quad |
Season
Smith sustained a quad strain in the July 19 VFL game. Read Article |
|
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 |
Back |
Season
Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back. Read Article |
|
18. Josh Gibcus |
Knee |
Season
Gibcus sustained an ACL sprain in the VFL Round 5 game. Read Article |
|
16. Josh Smillie |
Quad |
Season
Smillie and the Club are entirely focused on setting him up for a full pre-season. Read Article |
21. Noah Balta
Balta injured his toe after an awkward landing during a contest in Round 19.
Read Article22. 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 Article7. 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 Article38. Tom Sims
Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.
Read Article49. Kaleb Smith
Smith sustained a quad strain in the July 19 VFL game.
Read Article2. Jacob Hopper
Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.
Read Article8. Jonty Faull
Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.
Read Article18. Josh Gibcus
Gibcus sustained an ACL sprain in the VFL Round 5 game.
Read Article16. Josh Smillie
Smillie and the Club are entirely focused on setting him up for a full pre-season.
Read ArticleLast Updated: