Magpies coach Nathan Buckley speaks to Luke Ball about he ongoing issues with hamstring soreness. Source: Getty Images
COLLINGWOOD'S Round 1 preparations have taken a major hit with midfielder Luke Ball unlikely to be ready.
Ball is struggling to overcome complications from major knee surgery last season.
While his reconstructed right knee is understood to be stable, the clearance specialist is experiencing nagging soreness in the hamstring tendon graft.
The Magpies yesterday admitted they had been forced to lighten Ball's training loads after he complained of tenderness where a piece of the hamstring tendon was removed to replace his torn knee ligament.
Ball's setback came as coach Nathan Buckley confirmed injury-riddled forward Alan Didak would miss at least the opening fortnight of the home-and-away season.
Star midfielder Dale Thomas is also struggling to be fit for Round 1 as he recovers from ankle surgery.
Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said Ball remained in contention to face North Melbourne on March 31, despite the 28-year-old not having had any match practice.
"We'd expect, well, we're still hoping he'll play Round 1, but he may not," Walsh said.
"Where he had the insertion of the graft it's just a bit tender still, so we backed his training off a week or two ago just to try to give him some time to get over that soreness.
"There's soreness there and that's the symptom of the graft itself rather than any injury, but it's something that our medico guys wanted to back off and he's now just starting to build back up," Walsh said.
"He's lost a bit of time, but not a lot. Round 1 is still three or four weeks away."
Ball has repeatedly stated his aim to return in the NAB Cup, but he told the Herald Sun in December that there were problems.
"The hamstring, where they took the graft, is just taking a little longer," Ball said from the Magpies' Utah altitude camp. "It means I have to be patient, which I don't normally enjoy, but we will get there."
Buckley last night told Fox Sports News that Didak had simply struggled to get his body right since being named All-Australian in Collingwood's 2010 premiership year.
"We may not see him in the first couple of rounds ... but he wants to be there when the whips are cracking," Buckley said.
He said he had reminded Thomas, whose pre-season has been ruined by an ankle operation, that Dayne Beams had taken a similar path last year before going on to win the Copeland Trophy in a breakout season.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Hammy problems set back Ball
Dengan url
http://ganangandollar.blogspot.com/2013/03/hammy-problems-set-back-ball.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Hammy problems set back Ball
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar