North Melbourne defender Aidan Corr says he has “dodged a few bullets” in regards to his recent ankle injury.
The 29-year-old was struck down by an ankle sprain during a pre-season session on the Gold Coast last Friday.
Corr has previously missed large chunks of seasons with foot and ankle issues and there were fears he could be sidelined for some time.
However, Corr says it’s “not all doom and gloom” despite injuring his ligaments which have forced him into a moonboot.
“The ankle is alright,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“It wasn’t in great shape before I went down, to be honest. I re-tweaked a few ligaments.
“I’ve got a big boot on but I’ll hopefully be out of that within the next week and moving again.
“So it’s not all doom and gloom. I’ve finally dodged a few bullets with the big ones in the ankle. It’ll be right this time.”
The former Giant is banking on being back in full training by the end of January of beginning of February.
“We put a 6-10 week mark on it,” he added.
“It all depends on the ankle range and if we can get it going.
“Eight weeks would be a middle point. It’s been a week already so not too bad.
“It’s a bit annoying over the Christmas break doing all your rehab and that sort of stuff, but it’s all part of the gig.”
The Kangaroos lost key defender Ben McKay to Essendon in the trade period while Griffin Logue ruptured his ACL in July and is expected to be out for up to 12 months.
Now with Corr struck down, it has sparked concerns around the club’s key defensive stocks.
But there are emerging options, particularly in the form of Charlie Comben who is training with the backs this summer.
Comben missed most of the 2023 season after suffering a fibula fracture and syndesmosis injury after a sickening fall in Round 7 but is up and running this pre-season as he looks to make an impact in the back six.
“He’s looking good,” Corr said of the 22-year-old.
“He’s a big boy, Charlie. He’s put on some good size, he’s strong, reads the ball really well and he’s super motivated at the moment to learn.
“Any spare time you’ve got he’s grabbing you to do vision, watching tapes, we’ve got Jed Adcock teaching us a lot as well. He wants to learn everything he can.
“He just wants to play, he wants a clean run. Talk about being unlucky. If we can get him going, he’ll be a huge asset for us.”
Comben was drafted as a forward in 2019 but after nine AFL games is being tried in a different role.
Corr was this week named in North’s leadership group alongside young gun Harry Sheezel and Bailey Scott who will work under re-elected co-captains Jy Simpkin and Luke McDonald.