Scans have today confirmed captain Steven May will be sidelined for at least two weeks.
In what was a sour finish to the SUNS’ 26-point victory over Carlton, the Gold Coast full-back came from the field late in the final quarter, after sustaining a hamstring injury.
GM of Football Operations Marcus Ashcroft updated SUNS TV in this week’s Optomo Injury Report.
“The one disappointing thing from the night was Steven’s hamstring which happened late in the game,” Ashcroft said.
“He got scans on Monday; he’ll definitely miss the next couple of weeks with that injury and we will manage it on a week-to-week basis after that point.”
May’s partner in crime, Rory Thompson will also remain out of action, as he looks to overcome a quad complaint suffered in the lead-in to the club’s round four fixture.
“Unfortunately for Rory he got some quad tightness last Thursday before the game, so we opted not to risk him."
“He also got a scan today and will probably miss the next two weeks… once we get past that point we will assess it week to week.”
The SUNS’ 2016 top draft selection, Ben Ainsworth will be restricted to light duties for the next month, with his corked quad proving to be more severe than usual.
“Ben has had a really severe corky in his quad for a bit of time now, because he is a first year player we want to look after him with a long-term view,” Ashcroft said.
“He’ll most probably miss the next month up until the bye, and then hopefully by then he will be ready to play some form of football.”
Wingman Pearce Hanley endured a disappointing comeback to football via the NEAFL, with the returning SUN ending the game with a bruised heel.
“Pearce played a half of football in our reserves game last week, he hurt his ankle and got scans on the bone part of his ankle which came back clear."
“He does have some bruising in the heel. He won’t play this week, and we’ll assess him after this weekend.”
Meanwhile, Trent McKenzie and Mitch Hallahan also reported injuries in the reserves, and will each be sidelined for the next fortnight as the club takes a conservative approach with the pair.
“Both players have slight hamstring strains; Trent played all the game but pulled up sore after. He’ll most likely miss the next two weeks," said Ashcroft.
“Similar news for Mitch; played most of the game and got a bit sore towards the second half of that game.
“He’ll also miss the next two weeks. We’re really conservative in our approach in getting them back and we’ll re-assess them both after a two week period.”
