Gold Coast will have some tough ruck decisions to make when the team returns for their round nine clash against St. Kilda at Etihad Stadium.
As revealed first on goldcoastfc.com.au yesterday, scans have confirmed Tom Nicholls will be sidelined for an extended period after straining his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the side’s 43-point win over North Melbourne on Sunday.
Nicholls’ injury setback throws a spanner in the works for senior coach Guy McKenna, with back-up ruckman Daniel Gorringe expected to be out of action for at least four weeks after undergoing surgery on a nagging Achilles complaint.
GC SUNS High Performance Manager, Stephen Schwerdt, updated goldcoastfc.com.au on Gorringe’s injury.
“He has a bit of a troublesome Achilles for the past six weeks,” he confirmed.
“We tried a number of ways to repair it but the Achilles wasn’t getting the desired result so we opted to have the surgery.
“He had similar surgery on the other leg last year and it did the trick, so we’re hopeful the surgery will solve the problem.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a worse time for McKenna, with Zac Smith likely to need at least two games in the reserves before preparing for his AFL comeback after the bye round.
Rookie-listed forward Josh Hall is expected to be out indefinitely after he also went under the knife for shoulder problems.
“Josh had some shoulder issues this season and dislocated it a couple of times,” Schwerdt said.
“We’ve been through the process of rehabbing it but the only alternative was to have surgery and strengthen it properly.”
Meanwhile, Jesse Lonergan will be kept to light duties after he aggravated his hamstring at training last week.
In better injury news, Clay Cameron is a strong chance to return through the NEAFL when competition resumes, in what will be his first appearance since damaging his AC joint.
“He will continue training over the break, and we anticipate he will make a return to football next week.”
