It is a bitter blow for the big Queenslander who underwent ankle reconstruction surgery on his opposite foot last year which forced him to miss the bulk of the 2009 season.
While Charman’s latest setback is not as severe as the one suffered last year, the full extent of the injury won’t be known until early next week.
But Senior Coach Michael Voss predicts the premiership ruckman will likely miss the next 4-8 weeks.
“It’s worse than what we originally thought,” Voss said prior to his teeam’s training session yesterday.
“I thought he had only bruised his ankle. Then we thought it might be 2-4 weeks, and then it ended up doubling after we saw the surgeon.”
“He still might require surgery, but not another reconstruction. It’s certainly not as bad as the one he had last year,” he said.
“It’s disappointing for him to find out that he will probably be out for up to eight weeks. But we still have to wait and see until next week when we get the final adjudication from our surgeon.”
Charman had undergone a faultless pre-season training program over summer before the incident at Visy Park last Friday.
With a strong fitness base behind him, the 27 year-old is now focussed on his recovery and making a successful return to the senior team early in the 2010 season.
“In typical Charmo fashion, he’s picked himself up well and is getting on with the recovery,” Voss said.
“He is in pretty good spirits which is hard when you get hit by a sledgehammer like that.”
In better injury news for the Lions, Vice-Captain Luke Power rejoined full training on Tuesday afternoon after overcoming a minor groin complaint. The veteran midfielder looks set to be ready for the Lions' season opener against West Coast on Saturday 27 March at the Gabba.
