Pre season injury fears for Pies and WCE

[Danny]

With clubs having a first hit out this weekend, not everything went to plan

Nathan Buckley was unable to finish the Magpies first intra club match in Sydney on Friday, going down with an all too familiar hamstring strain. Plagued by recurrent hamstring strains in 2004, Buckley was notably disappointed by his (very early) start to 2005. While scans are still required to determine the extent of the injury, magpies coach Mick Malthouse has already removed him from the Wizard cup squad.

The news is bad for West Coast as well, with Brad Smith apparently out for the season with a serious knee injury...unsure of diagnosis as yet

[Ian]

Looks like an ACL for Brad


Eagles lose full forward for season
February 6, 2005
FOXSPORTS

WEST COAST's full-forward curse continued this weekend, with new recruit Brad Smith expected to be sidelined for the entire 2005 AFL season with a serious knee injury.

The Eagles took a punt on the Subiaco star after he kicked 193 WAFL goals over the past two years, including five in last year's grand final triumph over Claremont.

Smith was picked at No.57 in last year's draft and was to be handed the first shot at West Coast's contentious full-forward position this season.

But he suffered a suspected ruptured anterior crucial ligament just minutes into an intra-club game in Busselton on Friday.

It's a cruel blow for the 25-year-old if, as expected, the worst is confirmed tomorrow, but coach John Worsfold is remaining philosophical.

"That's a tragedy but those things happen," he said.

"Unfortunately for Brad and for us it's really disappointing, but we'll stick by the kid."

Smith's elevation came after Andrew McDougall, who kicked 35 goals in 21 games at full-forward last season, picked up a hip problem in the off-season that required surgery.

McDougall is hopeful of returning in time for round one.

Ruckman Michael Gardiner, who was being used as a key forward early last year, required reconstructive surgery after injuring his knee in round three.

Phil Matera's 61 goals helped West Coast reach last year's finals but the Eagles need a consistent tall marking option to take the next step.

Gardiner, Quinten Lynch and Ashley Hansen will now compete for the full-forward position in the upcoming Wizard Cup.

[injuryupdate]

Too much sunshine in WA. The couch and kikuyu fields would be thick as this time of the year. High risk for ACL injuries, as the Eagles know all too well over the years.

[injuryupdate]

Dodgy hammy shows end is near
05 February 2005 Herald Sun

By Mike Sheahan
THE news out of Sydney yesterday wasn't alarming just for Collingwood supporters.

While it is the Collingwood family that will be hurting most over Nathan Buckley's setback, it also is distressing for all who love watching the best at their best.

Buckley's fresh hamstring tendon problem is severe. Worse, it is more evidence of a fundamental weakness for him in perhaps the most fragile part of the modern footballer's finely tuned body.

When the word on February 4 is a club is no more than hopeful of its captain and best player starting the premiership season on March 28, you know it's grim.

Coach Michael Malthouse instantly dismissed the Wizard Cup, declaring Round 1 the target. That's 51 days away.

Eighteen months ago, Buckley looked as if he might play until he was 40.

He had just won a share of the 2003 Brownlow Medal, having played 24 of a possible 25 games. He had played 228 games in 11 seasons. At 31, he seemed to be at the height of his powers. Invincible.

Yet, the very next season, two bouts of hamstring trouble kept him to 15 of a possible 22 games.

Now he's done it in the opening minutes of a friendly intra-club practice game.

No player would have gone into the game with a more thorough preparation. No player in the competition goes into any season better prepared than Buckley.

It's the age-old story, time waits for no man.

Admittedly, there have been exceptions: Craig Bradley was deep in his 39th year when he finally drew stumps, and his hamstrings weren't always obliging.

Michael Tuck was 38 when he was convinced to call a halt, but Tuck was all skin, bone and hair. Bradley and Tuck were rare exceptions rather than the rule.

While Collingwood will explore every way to extend Buckley's career, the worry is his hamstring problems have occurred early in games, not simply after he has run himself ragged.

As he said on return to Melbourne: "it's only February". On the other hand, players traditionally are jumping out of their skin in February, not limping off a plane from a pre-season camp.

[hhh]

How come you don't slung a couple of large ones too state the obvious in a newspapers article, when everything is referenced from your gear anyway? At least it would be a more entertaining read

Buckley's problems likely to recur

By Peter Brukner
February 14, 2005

Nathan Buckley should be fully fit for round one, if he suffers no setbacks.


The news that Nathan Buckley's hamstring has been injured again two months before the start of the season justifiably has left the Magpie army a little uneasy.


Despite reports to the contrary, it is the same hamstring the Magpies skipper has had problems with previously and which caused him to miss seven matches last year. He first tore the hamstring in round three last year and did it again in his comeback game in round seven against Carlton, missing a further four weeks.


While we still do not understand fully why some hamstring muscles tear at particular times, we do know that there are a number of factors that make it more likely for a footballer to have a hamstring tear. Unfortunately, there are several indicators that would suggest that Buckley's hamstring problems won't be over after this latest injury.


· The incidence of hamstring injuries increases with age. Buckley is now 32 and statistically older AFL players have more soft-tissue injuries, of which hamstring muscle tears are the most common.


· The biggest predictor of a hamstring injury is a previous injury and clearly Buckley also comes under this category. When a hamstring muscle heals, even with the best treatment and rehabilitation program, some of the original muscle tissue is replaced by scar tissue. This scar tissue is quite strong but not as strong or as flexible as healthy, uninjured muscle tissue.



· The vulnerable location of Buckley's injury. Most hamstring injuries occur in the main belly of the muscle (in the upper part of the back of the thigh), but that is not the case with Buckley's. His is at the outer part of the hamstring muscle (the musculo-tendinous junction of the biceps femoris muscle), which is lower down the muscle than the usual injury.


It seems that the junction between the muscle and tendon is particularly vulnerable, especially in the biceps femoris part of the muscle.


This particular type of hamstring injury seems to take longer to heal and is more likely to recur than the usual injury.


· Older players tend to have a stiff back, which is thought to contribute to hamstring injuries. Stiffness in the lumbar area as a result of wear and tear, quite apart from any specific disc or joint injuries, means Buckley would have regular work on maintaining mobility of his spine.


Buckley is in a hamstring rehabilitation program which, provided there are no setbacks, should have him playing the last couple of pre-season games and being fully fit by round one, which will be seven weeks after this particular injury.


Coincidentally, Collingwood already had introduced a more aggressive hamstring strengthening program into its conditioning regime for this season. This involves a specific program that involves eccentric (strengthening while the muscle is lengthening) exercises, which have been shown to improve muscle strength.


The problem with this program is that it leaves the players sore for a couple of days and means they are not able to train intensely for that period, but the fitness and medical staff have decided that sacrificing a couple of days' training will be worthwhile if they can reduce the number of hamstring injuries.


Magpie fans will wait with bated breath to see if it helps Buckley get through the whole season free of hamstring problems.


Peter Brukner is associate professor in sports medicine at the University of Melbourne.