The following content was taken from hawthornfc.com.au
HAWTHORN star Grant Birchall will be sidelined for at least a month after scans revealed damage to the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee.
Birchall was injured in the opening minutes of last Friday night’s clash against West Coast after becoming tangled with an opponent before attempting to impact a marking contest.
The Hawks defender landed heavily on the turf of Etihad Stadium, as West Coast Eagle Patrick McGinnity tried to avoid making contact.
Birchall left the field before being cleared to return soon after with what was believed at the time to be a corked calf and played three quarters before being substituted out of the game as a precaution.
Precautionary scans on his knee, however, indicated damage to his PCL that is likely to keep him out for 4-6 weeks.
Head of Coaching and Development, Chris Fagan admitted though, Birchall’s stint on the sidelines could be extended depending on how his rehabilitation progresses.
“When he turned up on Saturday morning for recovery, his knee was sore and swollen and we decided that we should have precautionary scan,” Fagan told hawthornfc.com.au
“From those scans, we’ve discovered from that same incident, he actually hurt his PCL in his knee when he hit the ground.
“That means that he’s going to be out for somewhere between 4-6 weeks and it could even be longer depending on how his rehabilitation progresses.
“At this stage, we think it’ll be somewhere between four and six weeks.”
The news is better for forward Paul Puopolo who was a late withdrawal for the game, who is a chance to return for the clash against Brisbane on Sunday.
Puopolo complained of quad soreness after completing the pre-game warm up on Friday night, with Club doctors choosing to err on the side of caution with the speedster.
“In the warm up while he was kicking he got some soreness in his quad. He reported that to the doctors who had a look at him and decided that it wasn’t worth the risk for him to play,” Fagan said.
“He’ll be a test this week – he needs to get through the week fit and healthy before we’ll select him on the weekend.”
Josh Gibson (ankle) is likely to be fit for Sunday’s clash while Isaac Smith is expected to return after missing Friday night’s game with a corked calf.
