Collingwood have provided a new timeline for Jamie Elliott’s return to the field amid concerns he might have played his last game. The AFL premiership player has been on the sidelines since Round 8 with a vascular issue in his foot, and the Magpies initially stated he’d be out for between two and four weeks.
But the club later backtracked on that and his return was thrown into huge doubt. On Sunday night, leading reporter Tom Morris revealed on Channel 9 program ‘Footy Furnace’ that those close to Elliott were “doubtful” that he’ll ever play again and he might have to retire.
Morris elaborated on SEN radio on Monday morning, saying: “No one can really say when Jamie Elliott will be back from the vascular issue. It could be career-threatening. No one can tell me when he’s going to be back.
“This (injury) started as 2-4 weeks, according to Collingwood, now it’s TBC (to be confirmed). There’s two elements – one is when is he going to be fit to play? And two – does he have the will to get back and desperately want to play again?”
However Collingwood have since moved to ease concerns over the 31-year-old’s future, saying the issue – which has hampered blood supply to his foot – is nearly resolved. The Pies revealed on Tuesday afternoon they’re hopeful Elliott will be back in 6-8 more weeks.
“Some of the follow-up testing he has had for the vascular issue has shown us that the issue has resolved or is almost getting to the point of getting 95 per cent resolved,” Collingwood fitness boss Jarrod Wade said. “We know that now he has had a long lay off and he has not been able to run for the past five or six weeks he will now need a block of work.”
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