A fired-up Leon Cameron says GWS medical staff are not to blame for Stephen Coniglio’s potentially season-ending injury after a weekend of carnage for several AFL premiership contenders.
Superstar free agent Coniglio’s knee injury capped off a round in which talismanic West Coast ruckman Nic Naitanui, Collingwood skipper Scott Pendlebury, Essendon’s Michael Hurley and Port Adelaide’s Ollie Wines were all casualties.
Coniglio will undergo surgery on Tuesday to remove damaged cartilage in his left knee and will be sidelined for about eight weeks.
The midfielder’s knee had been strapped after he was hurt the previous week.
He lasted less than five minutes on Sunday against Richmond at the MCG before the knee gave way in an innocuous incident, prompting some commentators to question whether he should have been playing in the first place.
Cameron hit back on Monday night, saying there was no indication Coniglio had been at risk.
“It’s a bit disrespectful from some key people in our media that follow the game to even question that,” the Giants coach told Fox Footy.
“When a guy trains fully in the main session, he’s cleared by the surgeon, cleared by the scans, and you ask him four or five times ‘are you ready to go?’ They’re the cold hard facts.
“He came out, he played and he sustained a new injury.
“I thought it was really disappointing that people were having a crack at our medical staff when really they didn’t have the facts.”
That Coniglio avoided tearing his ACL was a major relief, but the Giants badly need him back soon after losing three straight games.
“They’re saying between seven and 10 weeks,” Cameron said.
“Stephen’s approach to rehab, his approach to training is first-class so if anyone can return sooner rather than later, it’s him.”
The Eagles face a nervous wait to learn the extent of Naitanui’s ankle syndesmosis injury, which he sustained in just his third game back from a second knee reconstruction.
If the injury is at the more serious end of the scale, it will be curtains for 2019.
Eagles forward Jamie Cripps (groin) and Collingwood backman Darcy Moore (hamstring) were also injured in Friday night’s thriller at Optus Stadium, and will each miss several weeks.
In better news for the Magpies, Pendlebury remains a chance to line up against GWS on the weekend after undergoing surgery on a broken finger.
Port Adelaide co-captain Wines is in doubt for their clash against Richmond after fracturing his thumb during the Power’s loss to Brisbane, while Bombers defender Hurley needs shoulder surgery and will be out for about a month.