Guthrie back in Cats’ selection frame
More selection headaches are looming for the 6-0 Cats ahead of their huge clash against Carlton on Saturday with premiership midfielder Cam Guthrie now available for selection after a twomonth spell on the sidelines.
Guthrie injured his right quad six seconds into a match sim against the Blues on February 22 at Ikon Park.
The 31-year-old only managed six games last year as he battled a complex foot injury.
However, the Cats assistant general manager Brett Johnson told the club’s website on Tuesday the 236-game, twotime Carji Greeves medallist “hasn’t missed a beat” with his rehab.
“These last couple of weeks have been more about giving him that specific football conditioning at training in readiness to play, so it’s pleasing to have Cam available to play football this weekend,” Johnson said.
It comes after champion defender Tom Stewart was subbed out of the game against Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday with concussion.
Young key forward Phoenix Foster also came off the ground in the fourth quarter of the Cats’ VFL match against Brisbane with concussion.
“We’ll assess each day how both players are tracking, and we’ll know more as they progress through the protocols around availability to play in coming weeks. We’ll ensure Phoenix and Tom are well looked after,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Joe Furphy (ankle) and Mitch Edwards (back) have had their expected returns to availability adjusted to two and 3-4 weeks respectively, as the club takes a conservative approach.
“There’s been no setbacks, it’s more about getting the appropriate training loads into them so we can set them up to perform really well when they play,” Johnson said.