Daniher future to be decided by brains trust

JOE Daniher’s playing future will be discussed at a meeting on Saturday, with Essendon coach John Worsfold unable to say if the forward will play again this season.

Daniher hasn’t played since Round 7, when he finally succumbed to a groin injury that had been troubling him for some time. Daniher had kicked just eight goals in seven games and his form had been heavily criticised.

Worsfold said Daniher had only just started light running, with swimming and upperbody work his main training.

The meeting will feature people who have been involved in Daniher’s recovery including the coach, doctor, physiotherapist, high performance coaches and conditioning staff. Worsfold said the prospect of a finals appearance for the Dons would have no bearing on Daniher’s management.

“Joey’s going pretty well, we’ve got a big group discussion about where he’s at and what his program is going forward on Saturday,” Worsfold said.

“I’ll be able to give you a better update next week, but Joe’s pretty happy with where he’s at.

“He’s doing some swimming and some upper-body weights and started light running, he’s progressing.

“On Saturday we will map out where he’s at now and what his program is to get him back to 100 per cent health. That won’t take into account any time frames, it’ll just be ‘this is what it’s going to take’.”

Asked if he expected Daniher to play again this season, Worsfold said: “I couldn’t answer that.”

Essendon has won five of its past six games and is still in the hunt to play finals, but faces second-placed Collingwood on Sunday at the MCG.