CARLTON forward Charlie Curnow will be sidelined for the next 3-4 weeks with a medial ligament injury.
Curnow sustained the injury in a contest with Fremantle’s Ethan Hughes during the opening minutes of the stirring Round 15 win.
The 22-year-old - who had been in outstanding form in the lead-up to Sunday’s game - didn’t return to the ground, with scans confirming the extent of the injury.
Director of High Performance Andrew Russell said Curnow would hopefully return with the next month of football, with the diagnosis as expected.
“Charlie’s got a medial ligament knee injury which is what we thought on the day, the MRI confirmed that,” Russell said.
“We think he’ll miss three or four games.”
The call that changed it all.
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) July 1, 2019
A true Blue if ever there was one - go behind the scenes to when Ed Curnow was told he would captain our club for the very first time. #BoundByBlue pic.twitter.com/x0XTqtvge7
Patrick Cripps and David Cuningham will both face fitness tests to prove their availability against Melbourne.
“Patrick will be a test this week — he ran today and moved quite well. He’s a chance to play and we’ll see how he holds up under a bit of footy load later in the week,” he said.
“David’s knee is settling, he had a hypertension episode during the bye. He ran today and moved pretty well, he’ll be a test on Thursday to see whether he’s fit enough to play.”
The Blues will be without Harry McKay, with Russell saying that despite progression from his groin injury, the key forward will be sidelined for another week.
