Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley says Daniel Wells made the decision to come back on after half time in the victory over Melbourne on Monday.
It has since been revealed Wells suffered a serious Lisfranc injury and will miss the rest of the season, creating some question marks around why the 33-year-old was allowed back on the field.
However, Buckley has calmed those concerns, explaining how the injury wasn’t made any worse by Wells playing on.
SEN’s Whateley with Gerard Whateley can be heard Monday-Thursday 9-12am, and you can subscribe to the podcast here
“Without knowing, I reckon he would have known the injury when he walked off just before half time,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“The doc had a look at him, taped him up and Wellsy was really keen to come back in the second half, he pushed it, he was the one that wanted it to happen.
“He played about 40-50 percent of the second half, he would have played about 30 minutes of footy in the second half. He had some impact but that’s less relevant.
“I get the sense it was a player that had a feeling that this might not end well, but I still want to be out there while I’m warm, while we’re playing, I’m going to go out there and play.
“That’s what he did. The injury as it was, from what I’m told, is no worse than it was when the incident occurred.”
Buckley also said he hopes Wells will be able to recover and fulfill the final year of his contract next season.
“We would love to get him up and about because you can see what sort of impact he has and that’s still our endeavour and our ambition, and I believe it’s his,” he said.
Listen to Nathan Buckley’s chat with Gerard Whateley on SEN’s Whateley in the player below