Collingwood’s slick win over Hawthorn has been soured by a gruesome injury to father-son debutant Will Kelly, who faces time on the sidelines.
However the Magpies are hopeful the key-position prospect has avoided a significant fracture.
In scenes not for the squeamish, Kelly landed awkwardly on his left arm while flying for a contested mark during the final quarter of his side’s 32-point win over the Hawks at Giants Stadium.
Kelly, the son of premiership Pie Craig Kelly, was helped from the field then celebrated his first win with teammates post-game while in a sling.
Kelly’s GRUESOME wrist injury
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“I think the early diagnosis is a dislocated elbow,” Buckley told reporters post-game. “We don’t know if we can rule out a fracture at this point, but it seems like he might have escaped that.
“We’ll get a scan (Saturday) morning and then we plan to fly him over to Perth and then get whatever assistance that we need over there.
“It’s a tough game … He looked like he was enjoying himself and he was part of a solid team performance.”
It was a bittersweet blow for Kelly, who produced the perfect start on debut by kicking a goal with his first kick in the AFL.
Son of gun joins rare club
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“Welcome to AFL footy,” Pies teammate Darcy Moore told Fox Footy post-game. “It’s a tough caper.
“At times it’s two steps forward, one step back. It’s cruel, but it’s the way it is.
“He barely played a game last year, so he’s been through a lot of hardship with injury. To see him come out and slot the first goal of the game was awesome. It was a taste of the highs of AFL – and then you come crashing back to earth.
“We’ll get around him. It’s disappointing for sure.”
MORE TO COME
