Season likely over: Surgery an option for hamstrung Tigers young gun

7 hours ago 3

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Sam Lalor may need surgery after suffering a second hamstring injury for the season in the opening minutes of his comeback game against Geelong on Saturday.

Playing in his first match since May 23, when he strained his hamstring against Essendon in round 12, the 18-year-old injured the hamstring again in the opening minutes of Saturday’s match.

Sam Lalor starred early in the season but has been struck down by hamstring injuries.

The Tigers are not expected to know the recovery program until Monday when the full extent of the injury is revealed, but it is unlikely Lalor will play again in 2025.

The No.1 draft pick showed his prodigious talent in his first 10 matches, but repeat hamstring injuries means the Tigers will need to undertake a rigorous assessment of the issue to ensure the problem is solved before he appears next.

Coach Adem Yze said Lalor’s injury flattened teammates and coaches, but the club would support him through the disappointment.

“I think the mechanism’s something that it’s hard to train. So yeah, it looks like a bad one, which is really disappointing,” Yze said.

“We’ve got to help him through that. We don’t want this to happen again. We want him to have a long career without these little hiccups.”

Jacob Bauer suffered a suspected ACL injury in the VFL on Sunday in Geelong to top off a bad weekend on the injury front for Richmond.

The better news for the Tigers was the reappearance of talented defender Josh Gibcus and best-and-fairest winner Jayden Short in the VFL. Richmond have a talented crop of youngsters, with Taj Hotton moving closer to selection.

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