Melbourne Demons defender Adam Tomlinson could be poised for a lengthy stint on the sidelines after this unfortunate injury blow.
Melbourne Demons defender Adam Tomlinson has been left “absolutely shattered” after suffering a suspected ACL injury during Sunday afternoon’s match against North Melbourne.
Early in the first quarter at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena, Tomlinson went down clutching his left knee after making inconspicuous contact with Tom Campbell.
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The 27-year-old was immediately helped off the field by trainers, and the Demons activated Nathan Jones as their medical substitute soon after.
“He went down straight away, put his hands up for the trainers, went down into the rooms,” Fox Footy reporter Kath Loughnan said.
“They did the relevant tests, and he emerged from that room visibly distraught and came back onto the boundary with his tracksuit on.”
Cameras captured a teary-eyed Tomlinson struggling to control his emotions as Melbourne teammates comforted him in the dugout.
“You can see the impact it’s having on his teammates,” Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall told Fox Footy.
“He’s putting on the brave face, out there encouraging at the (quarter-time) huddle, which is a brilliant thing to do … they are all making a point of going over to him.”
The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph tweeted: “Adam Tomlinson absolutely shattered. Looks to have done his ACL.”
The Advocate’s Alex Fair posted: “That was really tough to watch Tomlinson on the bench following his injury.”
Three-time All-Australian Gerard Healy explained how Tomlinson’s injury could impact the Demons line-up over the coming weeks.
“The question is now how do they go about realigning their defence? They’ll want to keep Jake Lever as the interceptor,” Healy told Fox Footy.
“From what I’m told, Harrison Petty is one they’re really keen to get into the team but they just haven’t been able to find a spot for him.
“It’s amazing how sometimes the footy gods smile on one person and are against another. Harrison Petty, it may just be the opportunity for him to come in and make his mark.”
Demons fight back after early scare
A major upset loomed in Hobart when North Melbourne raced to an early lead in its round seven match.
Currently sitting in bottom spot of the AFL ladder with zero wins, the Kangaroos seemed destined for a crushing defeat against the undefeated Demons, but quickly proved pundits wrong.
North Melbourne clinched a 19-point lead at halftime, threatening to pull off arguably the biggest upset of the season.
But the Demons proved their class in the third term, kicking five consecutive majors to go ahead on the scoreboard.
Melbourne held a 12.7 (79) to 10.6 (66) lead at three-quarter time.