Collingwood star Jordan De Goey’s season is over after scans confirmed he suffered a high-grade hamstring injury in the Magpies’ heart-stopping three-point win against Carlton on Saturday night.
The Magpies kept their premiership defence alive in the most dramatic fashion, surviving a final-quarter onslaught from the Blues, and then having to rely on Carlton defender Mitch McGovern missing a shot after-the-siren.
De Goey, however, who has been dealing with groin pain for weeks, was substituted out in the third quarter after hobbling off the field on Sunday and receiving tests that revealed he had a high-grade hamstring strain with tendon involvement, which would keep him out of action for three months.
Following the match, Collingwood coach Craig McRae immediately said, “A hamstring, high-grade.”
“I would have thought that’s going to be difficult for him to play in the short-to-medium term.
“I’ve just been told it’s high grade and, obviously, it’s not great for him.”
The De Goey injury soured an unforgettable night for Collingwood, who celebrated Scott Pendlebury’s 400th game with a trademark thrilling finish.
The Magpies led by 32 points early in the final term, but conceded the last five goals and allowed McGovern the chance to pinch a famous win for Carlton.
We’re building,” McRae said.
“This is the time of year you want to get hot.
“We’re not quite hot, but we’re simmering and there’s definitely some momentum coming.
“We’ve got the personnel back in that strengthen us up.
“For most of the game it looked like a Collingwood game.
“We’ve been building this for weeks.”
Pendlebury became just the sixth VFL/AFL player to reach 400 games, but the 36-year-old showed no signs of slowing day after being arguably the Magpies’ best player in his milestone game, with 27 possessions and nine clearances.
“He’s an incredible player,” McRae said.
“Some of the stuff he did late, some of the stuff he did when we needed him.
“He’s probably going to get sick of me saying this, but I don’t want to wait until I’m older and grey to appreciate him.
“We’ll share a beer at some stage and maybe a red wine.”
Meanwhile, Melbourne’s star defender Steven May has been cleared of major internal damage after fracturing the same ribs he injured earlier in the AFL season.
May was taken to hospital on Friday night after he was hurt in a heavy second-quarter collision with Bulldogs forward Laitham Vandermeer.
The 32-year-old was substituted out of the game in a setback that compounded the Demons’ woes as a 51-point thrashing left their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson confirmed May had sustained rib fractures in the incident.
“Pleasingly, there are no internal or underlying issues related to the injury,” Richardson said in a statement.
“Steven has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home.”
May missed one match after a similar incident involving Hawthorn’s Mabior Chol in March and is in doubt for Melbourne’s must-win game against Port Adelaide next round.
“The injury he sustained is to the same ribs he injured earlier in the year,” Richardson said.
“The club’s medical team will continue to monitor Steven closely, with a return-to-play timeline to be determined in the coming days.
“Steven’s well-being is our main priority, and we will support him through his recovery.”
