High Performance Manager Ben Serpell has provided the Round 1 Injury Report ahead of Richmond's blockbuster opening game against Carlton this Thursday night at the MCG.
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There are positive potential inclusions for the selection committee to consider, with Noah Balta available for Richmond's marquee clash against the Blues and triple-premiership defender Nick Vlastuin completing everything he needed to at training.
With Round 1 just three sleeps away, Serpell is confident the team is well placed to start the season strongly.
“It's been a long four months, and the last couple of weeks we've started to freshen them up a bit, and they're starting to look good, pretty zippy, and just ready to play football,” Serpell said.
Noah Balta: Hamstring, Available
“There’s not much to talk about with Noah Balta,” Serpell said.
"Last week we spoke that he had to get through training, towards the end of last week and this week, and he'd be available for selection, and that's what he got through.
“He'll be a discussion at the selection table.”
Nick Vlastuin: Conditioning, Test
“Nick got through everything he needed to get through at training today,” Serpell said.
“But he will be a topic of conversation at the selection table a bit later today because he has missed a whole lot of training over the last little while.”
Oliver Hayes-Brown: Patella tendon, Available
“Similar to Noah Balta and Nick Vlastuin, he had to get through training today, and he got through that unscathed, so we're looking at getting some game minutes into him this (week),” Serpell said.
Dion Prestia: Hamstring, 1 week
“As I said last week, he's progressing reasonably well with that hamstring injury,” Serpell said.
“However, we'll hold him off this week and see how he progresses from Round 2 onwards.”
Samson Ryan: Foot, 3-4 weeks
“Samson Ryan started his first little bit of match play this weekend, so at the moment, we're probably looking around about Round 3 or Round 4 for his return to play,” Serpell said.
Josh Smillie: Quad, 6-10 weeks
“Josh Smillie's injury is well documented now, and we're all very disappointed about that injury, no one more so than Josh himself, and then closely followed by everyone else at the Club,” Serpell said.
“The important thing to note is the surgical side remained intact, and unfortunately, when you undergo surgery like this, you need to distribute force elsewhere, and the surrounding structures haven't tolerated the force production which Josh has generated in that muscle.
“It is a disappointing start to the career for Josh, but not unlike some of our other Richmond greats, David Astbury, Dylan Grimes, and Trent Cotchin. So we just have to get around the young man at the moment and support him through this latest setback, and we know that he's going to have a really good future at this Club.”
Taj Hotton: Hip, TBC
“It is a rare injury that Taj has sustained. We had a look around the AFL to see if there was anyone else who sustained a similar injury, and we couldn't find anyone in recent times or even further beyond,” Serpell said.
“So there's not much to add with Taj at the moment. We're just going to see how that progresses over the next little while, and as he gets closer to playing, we'll give some updates on his return to play.”
Tom Sims: Foot, TBC
“He's chipping away at his rehab, and he's back to running at the moment,” Serpell said.
“Anyone who's undergone navicular surgery can appreciate that they are quite unpredictable, so we're just looking at how that progresses over the next little while.
“Keeping in mind he hasn't ran since the end of last season, so we need to progress him quite slowly and similar to Taj, we'll update you when we have more information about his return to play.”
Sam Cumming: Shoulder, TBC
“It is a bit unfortunate what's happened to Sam Cumming,” Serpell said.
“We were aware of that shoulder last year, and we thought we'd be able to strengthen that over the next little while and get some game time into him.
“We're not ruling that out at this stage, and we'll put him through a block of rehab over the next little while, see if we can strengthen enough to get him into football, and then after that we'll make a call on what we do longer-term with him.”
Judson Clarke: ACL, TBC
“Progressing really well, I think he's around about eight months post-injury now,” Serpell said.
“Unfortunately for Juddy, we were going to send him off to Aspetar, but that's been put on hold now, given the Middle East conflict.
“Hopefully, we can find something similar for him over the next little while, and he's getting around the Club in high spirits as he always does.”
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