In shattering news for the Gold Coast, Suns captain Gary Ablett has been ruled out for at least two matches after scans on Monday revealed minor damage and bone bruising to his knee.
“Gary had scans this morning on his right knee. The scans have revealed no structural damage to his knee, however we expect him to miss a couple of matches,” Suns general manager Marcus Ashcroft said on the Gold Coast website.
The Suns tried to play down the injury after the Brownlow Medallist needed assistance off the field after a collision with Brisbane tagger Andrew Raines late in the Gold Coast’s 65-point AFL loss at the Gabba on Saturday night.
Ablett was also keeping his fingers crossed when he arrived for scans on Monday with his knee bandaged.
“Great result nothing serious, doc thinks 2-3 weeks but I’m confident I can get back earlier! Thanks for your support!” Ablett tweeted on Monday.
Ablett had spent Saturday night in and out of ice baths to treat the knee injury.
“He woke up pretty sore this morning. It’s not quite as good a news as we thought last night,” Ablett’s manager Liam Pickering said on Fox Footy TV on Monday.
Ablett joins an injury list that also includes gun midfielder David Swallow (hip) and Jarrod Harbrow (elbow).
Swallow will be racing the clock to be fit enough to run out against his brother – North Melbourne captain Andrew – at Etihad Stadium on Saturday while Harbrow requires surgery.