Reigning Trevor Barker Award winner Jack Steven won’t play against Brisbane on Sunday, but key pair Nick Riewoldt and David Armitage are on track to return after missing the trip to Perth.
Steven punctured his lung in the final quarter of Saturday night’s loss to West Coast but bravely played out the game before being taken to hospital where he remained for a couple of days until he was cleared to fly home.
Saints GM Football Performance Jamie Cox confirmed the star midfielder wouldn’t face the Lions at Etihad Stadium and could also miss the game against Collingwood on Easter Sunday.
“The injury news out of the game has been pretty well publicised, Jack Steven punctured a lung and had a couple of nights in hospital in Perth,” Cox told saints.com.au on Tuesday night.
“The good news is Jack has now flown home and he’ll have a procedure back here in Melbourne.
“He will miss this week for sure and he’ll be a test for next week. Everything is going well at this stage, but he will certainly miss at least one week.”
Cox indicated that both Riewoldt and Armitage could return on Sunday after training strongly at Linen House Centre on Tuesday.
“Nick Riewoldt and David Armitage both missed the game in Perth and are both at a very similar stage in their rehab.
“Both trained pretty well today and both have given themselves a strong chance to be up for selection at the weekend.
“They will need to recover well from today and train strongly on Thursday to be in the selection mix.”
Highly rated young key defender Hugh Goddard is a chance to return from the long-term Achilles injury that has sidelined him since Round 11 last year.
After ten months out of the game, the 21-year-old will play some minutes in Sandringham’s practice match on Sunday if he gets through Thursday’s main training session.
“Some really good news this week is the long-term rehab of Hugh Goddard seems to be coming to an end,” Cox said.
“He’s looking good and looks like playing some minutes in the VFL this week. He’s just got to pass a test on Thursday but things are heading the right way for Hugh.”
Injury Update 4/4/17
Jack Steven (punctured lung) 1-2 weeks
Nick Riewoldt (knee) test
David Armitage (groin) test
Hugh Goddard (achilles) test
Koby Stevens (illness) available
Nick Coughlan (foot) 3 weeks
