Who Will Be Back From Injury For September?

31 August 2017  |  By Cara Peake

Injuries can be devastating for a player’s opportunity to participate in the ultimate AFL achievement – a Grand Final! To get there, teams need to put their best foot forward, which demands players  return from injury as soon as possible.

Joel Selwood will be pushing medical boundaries, hoping to be back on the field after six weeks, after a syndesmosis repair on his left ankle. A syndesmosis injury is also referred to as a high ankle sprain, where you get a disruption to the ligaments that hold your shin bone and the outer leg bone together. This connection is extremely important for stabilising the ankle joint and must be addressed to achieve a successful rehabilitation outcome. A mild injury will be managed conservatively, with immobilisation and a slow progression back to sport. Severe injuries will require surgical intervention, using a syndesmotic screw that holds the two lower leg bones together just above the ankle joint. This allows the ligaments to heal.

Selwood, under the care of Mr David Young, has undergone a slightly different stabilization procedure. Similar to that performed on Liberatore last year,  a piece of surgical string was used to hold the two bones together, to facilitate the healing of the ligaments.

Selwood has been cleared to commence training this week, with the goal to be up and running for the big clash at the G on Friday night against the Tigers.

This would be a groundbreaking return from injury in just under 6 weeks.

Unfortunately, Selwood’s teammate James Parsons is not looking as lucky ,after spraining his medial ankle ligament on the weekend and will be hoping to be right for the first final.

Sydney players Kurt Tippet and Callum Sinclair are also grateful for the extra week for recovery, after rolling their ankles last weekend against Carlton.