South Bendigo coach Brady Childs admits it’s unlikely star forward Kaiden Antonowicz will play again this season.
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Antonowicz fractured his ankle in two places against Kyneton on May 20 and the Bloods had hoped the classy forward would return late in the home and away season and potentially play finals.
That now appears a pipe dream.
“Kaiden has his moon boot off at the moment and he has another appointment with his physio this week,’’ Childs said.
“Kaiden is still waiting to hear when the pin (in his ankle) will be removed, so it’s probably unlikely he’ll get back this year.
“(For Kaiden to get back this year ) everything would have to go absolutely perfectly with his recovery and rehab. He has no fitness… for the past six weeks he’s put no pressure on his foot.
“At the end of the day we need to make sure he’s completely right and I wouldn’t want to risk him.”
Antonowicz made a huge impression in his first season with the Bloods.
The former GVFNL representative kicked 29 goals in five games, including a haul of 11 goals against Maryborough.
Antonowicz’s team-mate Joel Swatton is recovering from a broken leg suffered against Golden Square on June 3.
Swatton’s prospects of making a return this season are stronger than Antonowicz’s, but Childs said the Bloods won’t be putting any pressure on him to get back to action.
“Joel is in the same position as Kaiden… we won’t be taking any risks,’’ Childs said.
“We want to win games of footy, but we want to treat out players well and make sure they’re right.
“Kaiden and Joel are both only about 22, so they have plenty of footy left in front of them.”
The Bloods go into this weekend’s general bye in fifth place with a 7-4 record. They hold a half game lead over sixth-placed Kyneton.
The Bloods have been hit hard by injuries in the past few weeks, but Childs was confident his side could match it with the best teams in the run to September.
“We have confidence in the 22 players that we put on the park and if we execute our game plan then we’re very hard to beat,’’ Childs said.
“You saw that against Gisborne at the weekend. When we stick to our plan we’re a good side, when we move away from that plan anyone can score against us.
“(After the bye) we have to get that focus back.”
