Conca suffered foot soreness following last Sunday’s 70-point win against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG and subsequent scans showed a small fracture in his toe.
“He certainly didn’t have any soreness or pain going into the game, so it’s a chance that it may have just occurred within the game, even though he doesn’t remember a specific incident,” said Richmond’s Elite Performance Manager, Matthew Hornsby.
“He’ll start his rehab. straight away.
“It’s only a relatively short-term problem, but with three games to go, it means that he won’t play again this season. But he’ll be ready for a full pre-season leading into 2013.”
Conca, who turned 20 last Sunday, averaged an impressive 19.4 possessions per game in 18 appearances for Richmond, in his second season of AFL football this year.
Meanwhile, it’s likely that talented, young Tiger defender, Dylan Grimes, will be put in cotton wool until next season, as he recovers from the hamstring injury, which has sidelined him since the Round 14 match against Adelaide.
The 21-year-old is making good progress with his rehabilitation following the special treatment he received on his hamstring in a recent trip to Germany.
“We’re certainly taking a longer-term view (with Grimes),” Hornsby said.
“I think, given his history, and also the fact that there’s some tendon involved, we’ve set a whole lot of strength measurable that we expect Dylan to work through before he returns to play, which are over and above the normal hamstring protocol.
“But, given what he’s dealing with, we think that’s relevant, and it means that he’s unlikely to return this season.
“We expect that he’ll have a really strong pre-season and tick off all those measurable, as we’ve asked him to, to make sure that he builds durability for a long career.”
Hornsby also said that another young defender, in Jake Batchelor, who hasn’t played since Round 16 because of a bruised knee, is a strong chance to be available for Saturday’s clash with Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.
“He trained fairly well last week and was reasonably close, and then had a really good session today, so if he can get through Thursday’s training session, as well as what he did today, then we expect he’ll be available for selection,” Hornsby said.
