Geelong Advertiser |
STAR Lara midfielder James Allan has dodged a bullet after scans revealed no major damage to the knee he injured against St Joseph's.
It's a huge relief for Allan, who woke yesterday expecting to be told that he required a season-ending knee reconstruction.
Instead, the three-time Magarey medallist hopes to return by August, in time for the Cats' finals push.
Scans cleared Allan of any damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, but the star onballer has sustained bone bruising and possibly a crack in the tibia.
"I'll still be out for a while but I don't need any surgery or anything like that, so I'm pretty relieved at the moment," Allan said.
"They reckon I was pretty lucky. It was like a classic ACL, but the MRI showed it's still intact.
Allan's likely cruciate rupture damages premiership hopes
"I definitely heard something and he (my surgeon) reckons it might have been the two bones hitting together pretty hard that could have been mistaken for a pop.
"It's a lot better than it could have been. I thought I was done, so it's very good news."
Lara coach Matt Kershaw said the Cats were breathing a sigh of relief.
"It's going to keep him out for six to eight weeks, which is better than six to eight months," Kershaw said.
"We were expecting it to be season over, it was all doom and gloom.
"We were planning for life without him."
Allan, who is still on crutches, will seek physio treatment in the coming weeks to regain movement in the leg, which is being hampered by swelling.
He is going overseas on a pre-planned holiday in three weeks' time and will return on July 19.
"Normally, I come back pretty well from injuries," Allan said.
"I'm pretty hopeful I can come back for a fair few games before finals and hopefully the boys can do enough to stay in there."
