Magpies’ Mayne is shrugging off pain
NATHAN Buckley says Chris Mayne has told the Magpies coach “he’ll be right to go pretty soon” despite surgery rendering him unable to sleep on his right side.
Buckley said Mayne remained a “sore boy” after an operation to repair a fractured cheekbone following his collision with Carlton star Patrick Cripps in the Magpies’ win over the Blues on Sunday.
In an act Buckley said inspired his teammates, Mayne was felled in a clash with Cripps in the final quarter as both pursued the ball.
The collision is expected to sideline the courageous Pie until the finals, but Buckley said the midfielder was already plotting a swift return.
“Mayney is a sore boy,” Buckley said on Wednesday.
“He can be a finicky type at the best of times and he needs to be looked after at the moment. He can’t be sleeping on the right side of his face.
“The point of the shoulder got him right on the cheekbone. It is going to take a little bit of time for that swelling to settle.
“His teammates loved the fact that he is on the spot all the time and it’s just one of those things that happens in football and we’ll give him time to rest and recuperate.
“He did say to me a couple of hours ago that he’ll be right to go pretty soon, but we’ll give him that time.”
Mayne’s facial hit added to an injury list that already includes Jordan De Goey, Adam Treloar and Jeremy Howe as they prepare to face the third-placed Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Friday night.
Despite the absences, Buckley felt the Magpies were in the strongest position they had been in all season after grinding through “significant” challenges amid hub life.
“We’ve ground out a period where we were struggling on the field and it was probably reflective of some challenges we had off the field,” he said. “Sometimes it’s form, sometimes it’s not knowing what 2021 looks like.
“We have dealt with a lot of what might seem like small issues, but when you add them all up they are significant. I think we are in as good a nick as we’ve been this year to be honest.
“We have got quite a healthy squad at the moment, some boys that have been out and haven’t been able to contribute as much on field but are starting to get to the tail-end of their rehabs – and I am talking about (Brayden) Sier, (Ben) Reid, De Goey, Treloar, those guys are potentially able to impact over the next month at different stages.”