High Performance Manager Ben Serpell has provided key updates on Richmond's young forwards, Jasper Alger, Harry Armstrong and Rhyan Mansell, all of whom are set for a period on the sidelines.
Two tests loom ahead of Round 4, with Nathan Broad and draftee Sam Cumming, showing encouraging signs of improvement in recovering from their injuries.
Serpell highlighted the positives from ruckman Samson Ryan's return, following his first hit-out in the VFL's Round 2 clash against Coburg on Saturday.
“Samson Ryan got through his managed minutes on the weekend. "We're expecting him to play full minutes as far as rucks go, we hope to see him out (on the field with full game minutes), at some level this weekend,” Serpell said.
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Injury Report: Round 4
Ben Serpell provides an update on the injury list before our Round 4 clash against Port Adelaide.
Nathan Broad: Calf, Test
“Broady will be a test this week if he gets through training tomorrow, we'll make a decision then whether or not we want to play him or if we want to continue working with him to continue his fitness,” Serpell said.
Sam Cumming: Shoulder, Test
“Sam's been progressing quite well,” Serpell said.
“He's been undergoing full-contact training for the last couple of weeks now. We'll get through one more session, and then we'll make an assessment after that and then decide if we want him to get some game time at some level this weekend, so we can probably put him down as a test at this stage.”
Jasper Alger: MCL, 8 weeks
“We all saw Jasper go down in a contested situation, early in the second quarter. Unfortunately, he sustained a high-grade MCL injury,” Serpell said.
“We had to consult a surgeon on that, but thankfully, he's avoided surgery, but we're still expecting him to miss the next eight weeks.”
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Harry Armstrong: Foot, 8 weeks
“People would have seen Harry Armstrong withdrawn from the game in the third quarter. That was more precautionary at the time, we just noticed that he was running a bit strangely, and we came back and investigated some soreness in his foot,” Serpell said.
“Unfortunately, the investigation showed that he's got some bone stress in his foot, and sadly, we expect him to be out for the next around about eight weeks.”
Rhyan Mansell: Foot, TBC
“Following his wrist surgery, Rhyan presented to the club with some foot soreness also. We investigated that, and we also detected some bone stress in his foot,” Serpell said.
“Unfortunately, it's a bit more progressed than where Harry Armstrong's is, and he's actually going to have to undergo surgery later this week and will be out for another three to four months.”
Taj Hotton: Hip, TBC
“As we reported last week, Taj had some scans, and we see things progressing quite well, as expected," Serpell said.
“He's back on the bike this week, lifting some weights. We expect him to do a little bit of deep-water running next week, and soon after, we'll do some more scans and see if we can start running him soon after that.”
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| Player | Injury | Estimated Return |
|---|---|---|
4. Sam Lalor |
Knee |
Unavailable
Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game. Read Article |
|
29. Jasper Alger |
Ankle |
Unavailable
Alger has pulled up with some ankle soreness after the Round 21 VFL game. Read Article |
|
21. Noah Balta |
Toe |
Season
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 |
4. Sam Lalor
Lalor had a collision incident involving his right knee late in the Round 22 AFL game.
Read Article
29. Jasper Alger
Alger has pulled up with some ankle soreness after the Round 21 VFL game.
Read Article
21. Noah Balta
Balta injured his toe after an awkward landing during a contest in Round 19.
Read Article
22. 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 Article
7. 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 Article
38. Tom Sims
Sims has some medial sesamoid pain, with the plan to offload him until he is pain-free.
Read Article
49. Kaleb Smith
Smith sustained a quad strain in the July 19 VFL game.
Read Article
2. Jacob Hopper
Hopper suffered a stress fracture in his ankle following the Round 14 game against Brisbane.
Read Article
8. Jonty Faull
Faull will miss the remainder of the 2026 AFL season due to stress fractures in his back.
Read Article
18. Josh Gibcus
Gibcus sustained an ACL sprain in the VFL Round 5 game.
Read Article
16. Josh Smillie
Smillie and the Club are entirely focused on setting him up for a full pre-season.
Read ArticleLast Updated:
