Carlton sweats on Kreuzer’s fitness

CARLTON will give star ruckman Matthew Kreuzer until the last minute to prove his fitness for the match against Gold Coast.

Kreuzer returned after leaving the ground with groin soreness but was obviously in discomfort during last week’s round-one loss to Richmond. He remains in doubt for today’s match against the Suns at Etihad Stadium.

“We’re going to give him every opportunity — he’s really determined to play, we know how Kreuz goes about it,” coach Brendon Bolton said.

“We’ll leave it to the deadline.”

Bolton added that Harry McKay was a chance to play should Kreuzer pull out. The Blues made two changes, losing Matthew Kennedy to an ankle injury and dropping Jack Silvagni.

Bolton is hopeful Kennedy only misses a week, while Silvagni’s omission is no surprise after he had minimal impact against the Tigers.

“It’s just not unusual — Jack’s a 20-year-old, learning the craft of forward play,” Bolton said.

“He has some areas to develop but he’s really, really determined to grow those.”

Former Port Adelaide defender Cam O’Shea will make his Carlton debut and the Blues have recalled David Cuningham. SYDNEY has confirmed star midfielder Dan Hannebery will return from a calf injury for tomorrow’s home match against Port Adelaide.

The Swans also recalled Gary Rohan, while Nic Newman and Robbie Fox are the omissions.