Kennedy avoids elbow surgery
West Coast are increasingly hopeful forward Josh Kennedy will avoid major surgery to his right elbow and are yet to rule him out of Sunday’s clash with Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.
Kennedy is likely to train only lightly today as he continues to nurse the injury. If he is named in the Eagles team today, a final decision on whether he plays would be left as late as possible.
But while West Coast are yet to completely rule out the need for surgery, they were optimistic long-term damage to Kennedy’s elbow had been avoided.
“We are still going through the assessment phase,” Eagles football manager Craig Vozzo said yesterday.
“We have sought the opinions of surgeons. But we are confident that Josh has avoided a long-term injury here and we are pretty confident that he will avoid having to have surgery.
“He will probably do something (train) tomorrow.
“But if he was going to play this weekend we would test him in Adelaide to give him more time.”
Kennedy kicked six goals against Greater Western Sydney last Saturday despite sustaining the injury, which required treatment mid-match.
“It is just a question of functionality and risk now,” Vozzo said.
The club’s latest advice was if Kennedy played out the season he might still avoid clean-up surgery.
“It could be that it is an injury that heals itself and that would be the best-case scenario for Josh,” Vozzo said.
Meanwhile, former Eagles coach John Worsfold has urged caution with the return of Jack Darling from a foot problem.
Worsfold told Channel 7 it might be wise to rest Darling for the season.
“If there was a 5 per cent chance that by coming back and playing a game this year he might get that injury flare-up again, then I don’t think they’ll play him,” he said.
Port Adelaide have lost Jared Polec for up to six weeks with a foot injury after scans yesterday showed a “stress response” to the navicular bone in his left foot.
“We could have attempted to push Jared through the entire season with an aggressive week-to-week approach but we believe the best course of action is to give him a rest and take him off his legs for the next five to six weeks,” Port fitness manager Darren Burgess said.
