THE Blues will have up to seven players facing fitness tests this weekend ahead of Kade Simpson's 300th AFL game on Saturday afternoon against Port Adelaide at the MCG.
Marc Murphy (foot) headlines the players who are in line for selection, with the captain returning from an extended period on the sidelines with a plantar fascia injury.
“Marc is coming along really well managing that plantar fascia injury. He’ll be a test at the end of the week,” Head of Football Andrew McKay said.
“He’s been training really well so hopefully he’ll be able to get up for the special game this weekend.”
Big men Matthew Kreuzer (ankle) and Levi Casboult (finger) are also set to face the Club’s medicos this week in a bid to be available.
“Matthew sustained that ankle injury in the game against Collingwood on the weekend. He obviously didn’t play out the game but he will be a test this week to make sure the ankle is okay,” McKay said.
“Levi suffered that open dislocation in his finger in the warm-up on Sunday before the game too. We had to put that back in place and sew that skin back up.
"He will be a test by the end of the week - we just need to make sure it’s feeling okay before he can be selected to play.”
In a further blow to an already injury-decimated backline, Lachie Plowman (knee) was ruled out for the remainder of the season on Monday night after suffering a grade two level medial ligament strain.
“It’s a grade two medial ligament strain. He won’t require surgery which is fantastic but he still has a bit of bone bruising on the side of the knee as well,” McKay said.
“We will treat it conservatively because it’s an eight or nine-week injury but that of course takes us through to the end of the season so he’ll be out for the rest of the year unfortunately.
“The good thing is Lachie will be back and ready to go for the pre-season campaign.”
Pleasingly, the Blues could be boosted by the awaited return of impressive defender Caleb Marchbank from an ankle injury, with the 21-year-old set to face fitness testing to determine his availability.
“We know Caleb has been out for quite some time with that ankle injury, so he’ll be a test at the end of the week to see if he can get up to play,” McKay said.
Meanwhile, David Cuningham (toe), Ciaran Byrne (quad) and Patrick Kerr (hip) will also face the medical staff this week to determine their availability for selection at AFL or VFL level.
“David has been out for a week or two with that toe injury. He’s been training well since so he’ll be a test at the end of this week and we’re hopeful he’ll be available to play at some level," McKay said.
“Ciaran has also been out for quite some time with his quad injury. He too has been training well so we’re confident he will slot back into the VFL level this weekend.
“Patty Kerr missed last weekend’s game against Collingwood with a hip niggle. He’s since pulled up well in the last few days and he’ll get through training to test at the end of the week but we’re confident he’ll be available for selection.”
McKay also revealed that midfielder Sam Kerridge looks set for a brief stint on the sidelines, who is currently managing a groin injury.
“Sam missed that game against Collingwood with a groin injury which was unfortunate for him. He won’t play this week and we’re hopeful he will be right next week but we’ll know more later next week,” he said.
Youngster Jesse Glass-McCasker met with specialists who have ruled him out for approximately five to six weeks with a medial ligament strain.
“Jesse strained his medial ligament in the VFL game two weeks ago. He saw the specialist who ruled him out for about five or so weeks which is really disappointing for him,” McKay said.
Angus Schumacher and Harrison Macreadie are also in line to return within the fortnight from groin and hamstring injuries respectively.
“Angus hurt his groin in the VFL game for Collingwood on the weekend. It’s only minor so we’re hopeful it’s just going to be a week that he misses,” McKay said.
“Harrison is still managing that hamstring injury. He’s training okay but we probably need to give him just another week before he is ready.”
Carlton faces Port Adelaide in Kade Simpson’s 300 AFL game milestone clash on Saturday afternoon at the MCG. Don’t miss any of the action and be there for ‘Simmo300’. Click here to purchase your tickets to the game today.
CARLTON'S INJURY LIST - PRE-ROUND 15:
Matthew Kreuzer – Ankle – Test
Levi Casboult – Finger – Test
Marc Murphy – Plantar fascia – Test
David Cuningham – Toe – Test
Caleb Marchbank – Ankle – Test
Ciaran Byrne – Quad – Test
Pat Kerr – Hip – Test
Angus Schumacher – Groin – 1 week
Harrison Macreadie – Hamstring – 1 week
Sam Kerridge – Groin – 1-2 weeks
Jesse Glass-McCasker – Knee – 5 weeks
Lachie Plowman - Knee - Season
Alex Silvagni - Achillles - Season
Sam Docherty - Knee - Season
Tom Williamson - Back - Season
