Surgery again for Gregson
CORY Gregson’s horror injury run has continued, with the small forward last night having surgery on his troubled foot.
It is understood Gregson, 21, has suffered another stress fracture in the notorious navicular bone.
It is the same foot he has had troubles with in the past and will end his season.
Last night’s procedure was his fourth on the foot since the middle of 2016.
The severity of the injury — and a time frame on a return — will not be known until today, but it is the latest setback in his promising 39-game career continually railroaded by serious injuries.
Gregson had made a successful return to footy this year, playing 10 AFL matches after missing the entire 2017 season with chronic navicular bone troubles that required three operations to fix.
Adding to the issue is that Gregson remains out of contract at season’s end, but the Cats have a history of sticking by consistently injured young players, such as Daniel Menzel, Nathan Vardy, Lincoln McCarthy and Josh Cowan.
Gregson played only a half in the VFL on July 8 against Frankston before coming off with foot soreness.
He did not play in the VFL on Sunday against Sandringham.
GEELONG was last night waiting on the results of Nakia Cockatoo’s knee scans, as small forward Lincoln McCarthy continues to be dogged by injury.
The Cats are hopeful Cockatoo has avoided the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament rupture, but coach Chris Scott last night said it was too early to know the full extent.
Cockatoo had scans late yesterday after his leg was caught in a tackle 10 minutes into his VFL comeback against Sandringham on Sunday.
It is the same knee he injured in Round 3 when he suffered a posterior cruciate setback against West Coast.
“We don’t know the extent of the injury yet. But he’s hobbling around, look I won’t comment (beyond that),” Scott said on AFL360.
The Cats were last night coming to terms with Cory Gregson’s season-ending navicular bone injury.
Gregson was recovering in hospital after going under the knife to repair a stress fracture in his foot — the same issue that has held back his career.
“You make a strong argu- ment that navicular stress fractures are a more serious injury than an ACL,” Scott said.
“And Lincoln McCarthy just can’t get out on the track, the poor fella, because he’s such a talent. Those guys (Cockatoo, Gregson and McCarthy) would walk into our team.”
Scott agreed his side was still trying to find consistent footy after a patchy past month.
“It’s not preferable to be inconsistent week to week at this time of the year, especially when you’re coming to the business end of the season,” he said. “When we talk about consistency, we talk about consistent execution of the plan.
“We’re not seeing massive fluctuations from the performances of our players.
“Maybe at the bottom end — we do have a lot of inexperience through the team — but I think that’s just a truism of footy that if you have a lot of inexperience, inconsistency will come with that.
“But unfortunately what we are seeing a bit too much is fluctuations in the way our game style looks.”
Meanwhile, West Coast’s worst fears have been confirmed, with scans reportedly showing star ruckman Nic Naitanui has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
Naitanui suffered the injury in innocuous fashion during the second quarter of Sunday’s win over Collingwood at the MCG.
The 2012 All-Australian had scans yesterday, and they have reportedly shown an ACL rupture. The 28-year-old missed all of last year after tearing the ACL in his left knee in 2016.
If Naitanui needs a similar recovery time for his latest injury, it’s unlikely he’ll play at all next year. Players normally need around 10-12 months recovery time from traditional knee reconstructions.
But given Naitanui’s size and explosive nature, West Coast took a conservative approach last time, giving the big man closer to 19 months.
The injury is a bitter blow to second-placed West Coast, who are well positioned to mount a premiership assault.
Naitanui has been a key contributor this season, with his influence in the ruck and at ground level helping West Coast’s midfield become a force. Scott Lycett will now be handed the responsibility of leading West Coast’s ruck, with former Cat Nathan Vardy a chance to earn a recall as support.