Scotty, we have a problem: Two more soft tissue injuries prompt Bombers to look into medical program
Essendon coach Brad Scott says Essendon will look into a spate of soft tissue injuries after two fresh concerns emerged from Friday’s loss to Prot Adelaide.
The Bombers were comprehensively outplayed on Friday night at Adelaide Oval and went on to lose by 69 points as Port Adelaide’s midfield enjoyed a field day.
While Scott described it as a “wake-up call” for his on-ball unit, his primary concern will turn to an injury list that continues to grow.
Essendon lost midfielder Archie Perkins to a hamstring injury in the second half, while Scott also used his post-match press conference to reveal defender Jordan Ridley – who was close to returning from a quad injury sustained in the pre-season – had suffered a setback.
“It's hard to sit here and say no, (there isn't an issue). We just have to go and be really diligent in assessing what's happening there. Like all AFL clubs we run a really thorough medical program but at the moment we're being hurt by some soft tissues,” Scott said.
“In a full contact sport there are some unavoidable injuries, but you'd like to think the soft tissue ones are the ones you can do something about so we'll need to go to work on that.”
Scott couldn’t put a timeframe on Perkins or Ridley, but indicated his best and fairest defender would be out for the medium to longer term.
The Bombers haven’t been able to field their best 23 in any of their four games this season given a growing injury list.
Eight players were unavailable with injuries in Round 4, three of which with soft tissue injuries.
Perkins joins Ridley (quad), Matt Guelfi (calf) and Zach Reid (hamstring) as the Dons currently sidelined by soft tissue setbacks.
Midfielder Darcy Parish also had a late start to his 2024 campaign with a hamstring injury.
Essendon is 2-2 four games into season 2024 and next face the Western Bulldogs.
