Carlton co-captain Patrick Cripps has revealed Charlie Curnow is less than a month away from making his long-awaited return.
The 24-year-old hasn’t played senior footy since the middle of 2019, after suffering multiple injury setbacks in the last two years.
The Blues have opted to take a cautious approach with Curnow’s return from a knee injury, with the explosive forward now back in full training.
In a big boost for the club, Cripps said that he could be back in action in three weeks.
“I know big Charlie Curnow is about three weeks away from playing so it would be good to see him run around again,” he said on AFL Nation.
“He’s looking good, (Charlie) has been through a lot in the last two years and the Curnow’s are a good family.
“He’s put in a mountain of work this year, he’s moving really well at training and I just want to see him get back and be happy playing footy again.
“The way he’s moving at training, he doesn’t look like he’s lost anything. There are no expectations this year, I just want to see him get back playing and enjoying footy.
“If he gets back to where he was, it’s going to be very exciting for us going forward.”
Cripps inked a new six-year contract with Carlton on Friday, which ties him to the club until at least the end of 2027.
While there’s been plenty of speculation about the terms of the monster contract extension, Cripps admitted he’s taken less money in order to ensure the club has added salary cap space to target future recruits.
“That was my number one thing,” he said when asked about prioritising team success over a more lucrative contract.
“As a player, the security of six years is great but the first thing I said to the club is I want to do the best thing for it.
“At the end of your career, you don’t look at how many dollars you have and you look for success. I really want on-field success and a premiership.
“If that’s by sacrificing which I did and I hope others at the club continue to do, to not only keep guys on our list but to be able to add bits and pieces to keep challenging.
“If you look at all the good clubs in the competition, they keep doing that.”