Midfielder Dion Prestia will miss the remainder of 2016 after undergoing surgery on his injured knee in Melbourne on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old hurt his knee in Gold Coast’s round 16 win over Brisbane.
“He’s in for surgery this afternoon. Saw the surgeon yesterday, recommended he go in straight away,” GM – Football Operations, Marcus Ashcroft, told the Optomo Injury Report.
“There’s a little more damage than first thought so he’ll unfortunately miss the rest of this season.”
Wingman Matt Rosa is set to be available for senior selection after recovering from a hamstring strain suffered against St Kilda in round 15.
“It’s a real positive for this week,” Ashcroft said.
“Matty’s played some good footy this year and been a great leader for our footy club so he’s back after that hamstring strain and will be ready to play on Saturday.”
Jaeger O’Meara only played a half in the NEAFL in Sydney on Saturday with the SUNS opting for a conservative approach after the 2013 Ron Evans medallist reported tightness leading into the main break.
O’Meara won’t be available for senior selection until at least round 20 when Gold Coast takes on Greater Western Sydney at Metricon Stadium.
“(He) was a bit tight in his hamstring and calf, not his bad knee leg, so the conservative approach was taken. He was rested for the second half,” Ashcroft said.
“Unfortunately that will rule him out of senior selection this weekend. The other bad news is there’s no reserves game so he’ll have a week off which is probably not a bad thing in a way.
“He’ll rest this week and then be available to play reserves again the following weekend.”
Trent McKenzie could play game number 100 this weekend but a further decision on his fitness won’t be able until after Thursday’s main training session.
“He will be but a decision will be made on Trent whether we think he’s got enough fitness to play in the senior team,” Ashcroft said.
“So match committee will meet again on Thursday once we finish our main session and if he can get through that and the coaches have some confidence he can get through the game then he’ll be available but we’ve got to wait and see.”
In other injury news, captain Gary Ablett will seek a second surgical opinion on his injured shoulder during the week before making a decision on the best course of action.
Meanwhile, Michael Rischitelli will undergo a full ACL reconstruction on Friday, while Sean Lemmens will require additional game time in the reserves before being considered for senior selection.
Optomo Injury Update: Round 18
Dion Prestia will miss the remainder of 2016 after undergoing surgery on his injured knee on Tuesday.
