Less than a week on from his long-awaited AFL comeback, injury-plagued Carlton defender Caleb Marchbank is set for another stint out of the game after his body failed him again.
Marchbank played his first senior match in nearly three years as Carlton defeated Essendon at the MCG last Friday, but a meeting with a specialist on Monday due to a knee complaint led to more awful news.
Scans confirmed the 25-year-old had a lateral meniscus tear that would require surgery, leaving him facing another six to eight weeks on the sideline just after returning from 1069 days on the club’s injury list.
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“Caleb is understandably really disappointed, as we are as a footy club, given how hard we all know Caleb has worked to get himself back and ready to play at the elite level,” said Carlton footy boss Brad Lloyd.
“Caleb has had more than his fair share of bad luck, which makes this news tough to hear.
“But as we all saw on Friday night, he is more than capable of performing at the level and all we can do is support him through this period of his recovery.
“We have no doubt the Carlton faithful will do the same.”
Marchbank tallied eight disposals and four marks against Essendon, in his first game since round 16, 2019.
A fractured vertebrae sidelined him in July 2019, before bone bruising in his knee wiped him from the entire 2020 season.
He then ruptured an ACL in the VFL, dashing his entire 2021 AFL campaign.
Marchbank has played 49 senior games with GWS and Carlton since debuting in 2015.
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