Knee trouble hinders Lynch
TOM Lynch could face surgery on his troublesome knee, with the Gold Coast co- captain continuing to play in pain.
Lynch will run out for today’s game against St Kilda still struggling with the posterior cruciate ligament injury that ended his 2017 season early and required a month on the sidelines earlier this year.
The in- demand restricted free agent has told the Suns he is playing sore and that his running and mobility have been affected by a knee that refuses to settle.
Surgery on PCL injuries is rare, but medical experts say it’s the only option if rest fails to fix the problem.
Jarryd Roughead, Luke Hodge, Cyril Rioli and Nakia Cockatoo have all undergone PCL operations in recent years.
Leading sports medico Dr Peter Larkins said PCL injuries were “underestimated as to how significant” they were.
“The PCL is a back- to- front surgery for the ACL. It’s a lot more difficult, technically, and generally over the years you’ll find 95 per cent are treated with a brace and rehabilitation.
“With the surgery, there’s more complications and more infections.
“We’ve done 1,730 ACL reconstructions here ( at Epworth Hospital) in the last two years and we’ve done 14 PCL’s so there’s the sign … and there’s dozens and dozens out there in AFL circles who don’t have surgery. Most knee surgeons don’t do it.
“The equipment is different, it’s at the back of the knee not the front of the knee, but it’s the same principle – if your knee is loose you tighten it up and they use a hamstring graft; same as the ACL.”
Victorian Lynch, 25, is being wooed with multimillion- dollar offers and the chance to return home from Collingwood, Richmond and Hawthorn as the Suns fight to stop him joining their ongoing exodus.
How the injury affects Lynch’s immediate future, if at all, remains to be seen.
He is known for his toughness and willingness to play through pain, with coach Stuart Dew admitting his forward needed to be convinced to take time off earlier this year.
Larkins said AFL clubs had historically not given their players enough rest to recover from PCL injuries.
“Sometimes they get away with it … the problem is if you keep playing, the swelling in the knee makes the knee stretch up and so a PCL that’s a medium grade becomes a high grade over time because it gets looser,” he said.