Michael Hartley and Zach Merrett are available for Friday night’s clash, Patrick Ambrose could return next week but there is uncertainty surrounding Ben McNiece.
That’s the snapshot from this week’s injury update following wins against Collingwood and North Ballarat on the weekend.
Merrett underwent a concussion test in the rooms after he was assisted from the field following a collision with Magpie Levi Greenwood.
He passed that test and returned to the field as the Dons went on to win by 37 points.
“Zach has pulled up really well from the game, he’s got no symptoms or issues that we can detect,” High Performance Manager Justin Crow said.
“He trained well today and he’ll be available this week.”
Hartley suffered a corked thigh during the win over Collingwood. He got through the game and also trained with the group today.
“He’s got a little bit of discomfort still but it’s not going to preclude him from being available to play,” Crow said.
Patrick Ambrose is nearing a return after sustaining a quad injury.
The defender hasn’t played since the ANZAC Day win over Collingwood.
“Paddy completed training today, he’s now done a few main training sessions,” Crow said.
“He’s doing kicking progressions on his right side, which is his injured side.
“He’ll get a scan at the start of next week – if it shows a sufficient level of healing in his quad then he’ll be available to play that weekend and because he’s done such a power of work he’ll be able to play with unlimited restrictions.
“But the most important thing if for us to check off finally that he’s got full healing in that quad.”
Mitch Brown underwent surgery last week after sustaining an ankle injury in the VFL.
Recovery time is expected to be around the eight-week mark.
The Bombers are taking a cautious approach to Ben McNiece’s recovery from a neck problem.
“Ben is making slow but steady progress,” Crow said.
“We’re just going to have to keep waiting until he clears all of the symptoms in his neck.
“He’s not at the point yet where he’s running because of the impact component so we’re getting as much conditioning into him otherwise.
“We really have to be patient with this one and it’s a bit of an indefinite timeline.”
Jayden Laverde played his second game in the VFL last weekend and is set to play a full match this week.
The Dons held over five senior listed players (Kyle Langford, Matthew Leuenberger, Craig Bird, Josh Begley and Matt Dea) from the VFL game against North Ballarat on Sunday, to ensure they’re fresh if they’re called into the senior side for Friday night’s clash against St Kilda.
