Hawthorn superstar Lance Franklin has defended a decision to play him in the AFL blowout against Greater Western Sydney which appears to have backfired spectacularly.
Franklin faces up to three weeks on the sidelines because of the hamstring he first injured a fortnight ago – a disastrous blow as the premiership favourite Hawks chase a top four spot.
In a double whammy for the Hawks, skipper Luke Hodge also faces another two to three weeks on the sidelines after another setback with his troublesome knee.
With Franklin, the club admits his hamstring injury is to the same leg in which he experienced tightness after Hawthorn’s round 14 match against Carlton.
Franklin says he felt 100 per cent fit before he was surprisingly cleared to play in the Hawks’ next match – the huge 162-point win over GWS at the MCG on Sunday.
Now the Hawks will be without him for this week’s clash with the Western Bulldogs, and almost certainly the matches to follow against fellow top four aspirants Collingwood and Essendon.
“I went into the game very confident nothing was going to happen,” Franklin told Foxtel’s On The Couch on Monday night.
“I did all the tests the physios and doctor told me to do. I passed those, and I was confident going into the game I was going to get through.
“It’s not the club’s fault. It’s not my fault either. It’s just a part of football. Injuries happen, and unfortunately it’s happened to me.”
The Hawks said Franklin had completed all “required testing protocols” prior to being cleared to play in a match the club would arguably have won comfortably without the star forward.
After booting four goals and dominating, Franklin was substituted in the third quarter complaining of pain around his buttock.
Scans on Monday showed Franklin had injured his hamstring.
“Lance said he was feeling fine in the first half and playing without restriction or awareness,” Hawks football operations manager Mark Evans said on Monday night.
“After a marking contest in the third quarter, he came to the bench reporting a corked buttock and some tightness in his left hamstring.”
Hodge, who hasn’t played in nearly three months, faces more time out because of swelling in his knee which arose during training on Monday.
“Luke has had some fluid drained from his knee and we would expect it to settle quickly,” Evans said.
“We anticipate Luke will be able to train at the end of this week, and depending on how quickly the swelling settles, we expect him to resume playing within the next two to three weeks.”
