Injury News: Touk ruled out, LDU set for test, JHF foot injury

The weekly injury reports are starting to trickle out with key updates across the board to help guide your Round 19 trade targets and trade-outs.

Touk Miller will miss 3-4 weeks due to a hamstring injury sustained against Collingwood last Friday. SUNS Head Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull said: “Scans have confirmed that Touk sustained a hamstring strain on Friday night which will see him miss the next 3-4 weeks.”

GWS have confirmed Josh Kelly (hip) and Jesse Hogan (foot) will be “managed” for Thursday’s game with Essendon after a five-day turnaround. The Dons have ruled out Ben Hobbs (groin) and Nate Caddy (soreness).

George Wardlaw is available to return but Luke Davies-Uniacke is no guarantee to return form concussion protocols for North Melbourne.

The Kangas update said: “Davies-Uniacke is progressing well through the AFL-mandated protocols and will tick off his final provision on Tuesday night when he also trains with the VFL group. He’ll then look to head into full contact training on Thursday and prove his fitness ahead of selection.”

Port revealed that Horne-Francis suffered a foot injury against West Coast and has already been ruled out of their next game against Hawthorn.

The Power’s update said: “Horne-Francis sustained an acute fracture in his foot from an incident in Sunday’s game and is likely to require surgery. A return timeline will become clearer in the coming days.”

Connor Rozee was subbed out against the Eagles with a hand injury, but is still a chance to play Hawthorn this weekend.

The Power update said: “Connor Rozee was subbed out of the match against West Coast, with scans showing a fracture in his hand. The Port Adelaide captain won’t require surgery and will be assessed throughout the week.”

Richmond had some updates on some relevant cheapies. Tigers High Performance Manager Ben Serpell said Jasper Alger (ankle) is available. He explained: “We scanned Jasper’s ankle last week after the injury report and realised the injury wasn’t as severe as what we thought originally. Happy to say that he has pulled through training last week and is available for selection this week.”

Kane McAuliffe (quad) is listed as 1-2 weeks off. Serpell said: “Kane is doing well with his rehab. As I said with Josh Smillie, there is no VFL game this weekend, so on the off chance we wanted to bring him back through the VFL, there is no opportunity for that this week. It’s probably best if we say that he is one to two weeks away, and we will see how he progresses.”

There’s bad news for Campbell Gray (knee) who seemed close to a return, but will now miss 6-8 weeks. Serpell said: “Campbell Gray’s test didn’t go too well last week and unfortunately it has set him back a little bit. We are looking at him for another six to eight weeks away.”

Collingwood revealed Dan Houston will miss 2 weeks due to an abdominal strain. Pies Head of High Performance Jarrod Wade said: “Houston was able to complete the match against the Gold Coast Suns but scans early in the week revealed he has sustained a mild abdominal strain. Houston is expected to miss two weeks.”

Cooper Simpson is closing in on a return for Freo. The Dockers injury update said: “Nat Fyfe (calf) and half-back Cooper Simpson (AC joint) are just one week away from returning to football.”

Hayden Young is also in the mix to return from a long-term hamstring, needing to get through main training on Thursday to be available for selection.

Geelong have listed Sam De Koning (shoulder) as a test, while Jeremy Cameron will be monitored this week after experiencing discomfort against GWS, but is expected to play against St Kilda.

Carlton will be forced into changes with Mitch McGovern and Orazio Fantasia both ruled out with hamstring injuries, while Adam Saad (concussion) is a test to return.

Brisbane cheapie James Tunstill has entered concussion protocols following a collision in the VFL, while Matt Crouch (hip) will return for Adelaide via the SANFL on restricted minutes.

Will Day (foot) is now listed as 1 week, while Sam Butler (leg) is in the mix to return for Hawthorn.

Hawks High Performance Manager Peter Burge said on Butler: “He’s moved back into training over the weekend and today fully trained with us, he’ll train again on Thursday, and we’ll make a judgment call on his availability on the weekend, but it’s looking really positive. So he’s feeling much much better with a bit of a de-load and we’ll re-load again and go this week, hopefully back into match play and finish the year strongly.”