St Kilda defenders Dylan Roberton and Nathan Wright both suffered minor injuries last week, although the pair is expected to be exposed to some football prior to round one.
Roberton was the only injury concern to emerge from last Friday night’s intra-club match at Trevor Barker Oval, with the 24-year-old suffering an ankle injury that should sideline him for a fortnight.
INTRA-CLUB: See who impressed last Friday.
“Fortunately the only injury we suffered from the intra-club was Dylan Roberton who rolled his ankle,” GM of Football Performance Jamie Cox told saints.com.au on Wednesday.
“It’s turned out okay, he’s likely to only miss this game and be available for NAB Two.
“It’s not the same ankle that he’s had trouble with previously, so we’re hopeful he’ll play NAB Two, if not certainly be available NAB Three.”
Wright underwent surgery to mend the little finger he broke in training last week, but should be available for at least one hit out during the NAB Challenge series.
“He missed the intra-club on Friday after he broke his little finger at training leading up to that game. It’s not too serious,” Cox said.
“He’s had surgery on the finger and all went well so he should be available for NAB Two or NAB Three, which is good news for him because he’s training really well.
Cox said the club is hopeful father-son recruit Bailey Rice won’t be sidelined for too long with glandular fever, although how he responds to the illness will determine how much time he spends on the sidelines.
“Bailey Rice has glandular fever so we are treating him symptomatically week-by-week,” Cox said.
“We hope that Bailey won’t miss too much football, but we obviously won’t take too many risks, with a first-year player as well. He’s going well, but he’s probably still another couple of weeks away from full training.”
Off-season recruit Nathan Freeman and his troublesome hamstring are progressing strongly, with Cox hopeful the former top-ten draft pick will put his hand up for selection early in the year.
“He’s training really strongly. Hopefully, all going well he’ll be available to play early in the season. He’s rehabbing really well and running really quickly,” Cox said.
