Poor Dusty!
Dustin Martin was in intensive care and narrowly avoided surgery on kidney (paywalled)
Dustin Martin narrowly avoided surgery on his serious kidney injury and was in an intensive care unit until Tuesday.
But despite the likelihood he will remain in a Gold Coast hospital until next week, Richmond holds no fears over his recovery for Round 1 next year.
The Tigers star is in “good spirits” but “more sore than he thought he would be”, according to coach Damien Hardwick.
Martin’s lacerated kidney did not continue to bleed after his collision with Brisbane Lion Mitch Robinson, so he avoided surgery.
In most cases given the damage and force of the bump he would have needed surgery but the triple Norm Smith medallist’s recovery will still be lengthy.
After being moved from ICU on Tuesday he is still in a critical care unit on the Gold Coast, with doctors in no rush to discharge him as they continue to monitor his progress.
Doctors have ruled out any contact in training for three months, but with Martin able to resume by October he will be able to partake in a full pre-season.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said the star on-baller was in “good spirits” but wasn’t sure when he would be released from hospital.
“Dustin is still in hospital, we are not too sure when he’s going to come out. At this stage it looks likely, hopefully, over the weekend, but we are not too sure at the moment,” Hardwick said on Friday.
“The doctors are still looking at him and making sure he fully recovers.
“He’s sore. He’s a very strong lad, but he’s certainly a lot more sore than he thought he would be.
“It’s a significant injury, which is why he won’t play football for the remainder of the year. He’d love to be around us, he’d love to be with us, but he’s dealing with it the best he can.
“The one thing I’d say about Dustin is mentally he handles these things very well, he does a lot of work in that space. He’s in as good a place as he can be at present.”
The Tigers must win four of the last five games to give themselves their best shot at finals but after being trounced by Geelong in a 63-point defeat in Round 8, Hardwick admits the Tigers will be heavy underdogs against the Cats on Sunday.
“We’ve got a challenge, there’s no doubt about it, but we’ve been in these situations before and we’ve come out on top. It’s very much an underdog status for us but we’re looking forward to an enormous challenge versus a very good Geelong.“
Hardwick conceded Martin was a “hard player to replace”, but the return of veteran Shane Edwards for Sunday’s clash with Geelong could help off-set that.
“We’ve got some players we think can fulfil that role in a different manner that we are excited to be given an opportunity to and see how that pans out,” he said.
“But if we’re looking for one player to replace Dustin Martin we are going to be found short in that regard. It will certainly be a team effort. It will give us a different look.