CARLTON captain Patrick Cripps has backed the club's star youngster Jagga Smith to overcome an ACL injury, which he sustained during Saturday afternoon's match simulation defeat to St Kilda.
Scan results on Sunday had discovered Smith ruptured his ACL in an incident just before three-quarter time, stunning Blues officials who had been confident the No.3 pick would avoid a serious setback.
It will rule the prolific teenage midfielder out for his entire maiden season at AFL level, though Cripps believes Smith has the type of personality to overcome the injury and enjoy a stellar career at Ikon Park.
"My first initial feeling was just feeling for him," Cripps told AFL.com.au on Monday.
"When you're 18, you're dreaming of this moment and it's a couple of weeks away. It's heartbreaking for him. But, at the same time, I know a lot of people reached out to him yesterday just to make sure he was OK. He'll have a lot of support over the next couple of weeks.
"The most important thing is actually letting him feel what he's feeling at the moment, then he'll get the surgery and get on with his rehab. If anyone knows him, he's a pretty professional kid and he loves his footy. He'll come back better. But it's always tough news to hear, both for him but also for us."
The injury comes following an impressive pre-season for Smith, who had appeared a lock for Carlton's round one side against Richmond having featured strongly across half-forward on Saturday.
Cripps called Smith on Sunday to lend his full support, declaring that the Blues playing group would get behind the talented teenager to ensure he was feeling the love across his next couple of weeks.
"I gave him a buzz yesterday," Cripps said.
"As you can imagine, he was pretty gutted. But he's got a long career ahead of him. I was just making sure he felt supported, which I know a lot of the boys were in reaching out to him. That was the main thing yesterday."
A number of star youngsters have put similar early injuries behind them to achieve both team and individual success, notably Melbourne superstar Christian Petracca and Brisbane's reigning Norm Smith Medal winner Will Ashcroft.
Cripps himself missed a large chunk of his debut AFL season with a broken leg, featuring in just three senior matches, saying he would help guide Smith through what will be a challenging period.
"At the moment, you just want him to absorb how he's feeling," Cripps said.
"I'm not trying to park it to the side, because when you work so hard to try and achieve your dream and to get that ripped out … it's hard. (But) in the big scheme of things, he'll look back later in his career and realise it was just a small roadblock.
"There have been a lot of guys at our club that have done knees – obviously Sam Docherty has done a few – so there will be a lot of guys that will help him along the way. But he's a professional kid and he loves his footy, so it'll be a year where he can build his body and I know he's going to play a lot of footy for our club."
