Injury hits Magpies’ Elliott again in AFL

Jamie Elliott’s cursed luck with injury has struck again, ruling the Collingwood forward out of the AFL Anzac Day blockbuster against Essendon.

The 26-year-old Elliott had played all five games this season after last year’s write-off due to ankle and hamstring problems.

He was ruled out of the MCG clash with a corked buttock, but the Magpies expect Elliott will only miss one game.

James Aish will also miss the game because of concussion symptoms.

The Magpies have picked Will Hoskin-Elliott for his first game this season, while Levi Greenwood also returns.

Hoskin-Elliott needed leg surgery in February and hasn’t played since, but the Magpies are confident he’s ready for one of the biggest games of the season.

It is the 25th Anzac Day clash between the two rivals, with the game becoming the biggest AFL fixture outside the finals.

“He recovered well from the surgery and then worked tremendously hard under the supervision of the high performance team to get back into the program,” Colingwood football boss Geoff Walsh said.

“It became apparent over the last couple of weeks that he was physically ready to play. The question was where?

“Given his athleticism and the amount of work he was coping with, a decision was made to bring him straight up.

“He is no-nonsense, Will, but very important to us as his season last year (26 games, 42 goals) proved.”

Essendon also made two changes for Thursday’s match, with top-10 draft pick Darcy Parish dropped for the second time this season.

Brayden Ham was also left out as the Bombers regained top midfielders Devon Smith and David Zaharakis.

Joe Daniher was picked to play the day after his grandfather Jim was farewelled in a funeral at the family’s NSW country home town of Ungarie.

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