SUNS defender Harrison Wigg has undergone surgery to repair his ACL after sustaining the injury during last Thursday’s intra-club match simulation session. 

As reported by SUNS Media, Wigg was sent for scans immediately after the training which confirmed the injury in his right knee.

Gold Coast’s Head Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said Wigg was on the mend following his procedure on Tuesday and would be back at the club in the coming days.

“It was really unfortunate for Wiggy after a really strong pre-season with his work ethic and really good performance on the training track to in a marking contest unfortunately injure his ACL,” Bull told SUNS Media.

“He’ll start attacking his rehab with us at the back end of the week.”

Josh Schoenfeld is also expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks after having ankle surgery last week after suffering the injury at training.

“He had a small ankle operation after unfortunately hurting his ankle in a tackling contest the week before last,” Bull said.

“He’s going really well with his rehab at the moment – he’s started some strength work and hopefully we’ll get him up and running in the next couple of weeks.

“We know with Josh’s base fitness levels and strength that we can hopefully get him training before the season starts.” 

New SUN Corey Ellis has continued to be managed throughout the pre-season after reporting soreness in his groin late last year.

“Just before Christmas alongside Corey and the coaching staff we elected to have a minor procedure on Corey’s groin to help him through the pre-season and to give him a really good chance to perform strongly long-term,” Bull said.

“Corey’s back running really strongly at the moment, he’s completed a lot of strength work and is now topping up his football-specific conditioning and high-volume running levels.

“We’ll see him integrate into training over the next couple of weeks as well.” 

Another new SUN Josh Corbett has also undergone a minor procedure in the aim to be fit for round one.

“Josh came to us at the back end of last week with some discomfort in his knee and we elected to have a really minor procedure on his knee,” Bull said.

“He’s only four days post-operation and he’s already started his strength work and we hope to get him up and running in the next couple of weeks as well.” 

After seriously injuring his patella tendon in the last match of the 2018 AFL season, Jack Leslie is starting to increase his training load as the new season draws closer.

“Jack had a really significant patella tendon injury, he’s done a lot of work on his rehabilitation over the off-season and pre-season and pleasingly he’s integrated into small parts of training this week,” Bull said. 

“It’s a really gradual process after such a big injury so Jack’s tracking really nicely at this stage and we’ll continue to progress him on as he’s able.”

In good news, key forwards Sam Day and Peter Wright are back to full fitness after serious injuries cut their 2018 seasons short. 

“Sam had a shoulder reconstruction in July of last year and had a really strong off-season which has led him to complete every session so far this pre-season,” Bull said.

“Pete had a knee injury which we managed conservatively at the back end of the season and like Sam has had a really consistent pre-season thereafter.”

Finally, versatile forward Nick Holman is being managed with an ongoing back complaint but is expected to be passed fit to play in the second JLT Community Series match.

“Nick has been managed over the last couple of months with a bit of back soreness,” Bull said.

“He’s done a lot of running but we’ve kept him out of some elements of training that have been likely to flare that up.

“He’s started to integrate into training as well this week and will continue to drip-feed in over the next few weeks leading into the start of the season.”