GOLD Coast expects star on-baller Jaeger O’Meara to return to football “sooner rather than later” following arthroscopic surgery on Friday.

The left-footer, who missed the entire 2015 season after rupturing his patella tendon, is making steady progress.

“Alex Rigby [Rehab Manager] and Lindsay Bull [Physiotherapist] have done a fantastic job in getting him back so this is the second week he’s been running on the grass,” Suns head physo Adam Russell told the club’s website.

““He spent another two weeks before that running on the AlterG so he’s coming along nicely so hopefully we’ll see him back sooner rather than later.”

Round 18

O’Meara, 22, has played 44 games for the Suns since debuting in 2013.

KEY DOGS HURT

WESTERN Bulldogs half-back Jason Johannisen will miss 10 weeks with a high grade hamstring tear, scans have confirmed.

In positive news, the exciting Dog did not tear his hamstring off the bone as first feared, but the injury did have partial tendon involvement.

Johannisen won’t require surgery with expert opinion determining a non-invasive approach will be most suitable for his rehabilitation.

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The Dogs have a deep injury list at the moment, with Josh Prudden (knee), Bob Murphy (knee) and Tom Boyd (shoulder) joining Johannisen in the casualty ward.

Prudden ruptured his ACL in his right knee playing VFL on the weekend and will miss the remainder of the year.

Meanwhile Murphy, who suffered the same fate as Prudden the week before against Hawthorn, will have conventional ACL surgery.

“Bob has considered the surgical options available to him, and he’s determined he’ll do the conventional ACL reconstruction,” Lowe said

“He’ll be having that done in the coming days.

“Once he’s had the surgery, we’ll give him all the time he needs to make a decision about his future and how he wishes to progress forward.”

Forward Tom Boyd reinjured his problematic right shoulder in a ruck contest on Saturday night. The club will seek expert opinions, although scans have revealed there is no further damage.

“Tom suffered an injury in a ruck contest during the game to his shoulder, similar to an incident he had during the preseason,” Lowe said.

“We are seeking further specialist advice over the coming days, and we’ll determine the course of action from there.”

In more positive news, Matt Suckling is expected to be available for selection after rolling his ankle in the third quarter against Carlton, while Easton Wood will return from hamstring tightness to bolster the Dogs’ defence.

Jason Johannisen hobbles off. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

MARTIN IN THE MIX

DESPITE suffering an horrific bump to the head against Gold Coast, Brisbane has left the door ajar for ruckman Stefan Martin to face the Western Bulldogs in Round 5.

“He obviously suffered a fairly serious concussion, so the immediate after-effects were quite pronounced, and he was unconscious there for a little bit,” Lions footballer manager Matt Francis said.

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed in terms of his availability for this weekend or not [but] in terms of AFL sport, the guidelines around managing concussion is leading other sports around the world, so Stef’s in good hands in terms of the management of that for the rest of the week.

“We’re certainly going to be taking a more conservative approach than maybe others who haven’t experienced the injuries in this area that we have, so we’ll be conservative and looking at the best interests of the long-term health and condition of Stef. He’s a very important player for us, we’re certainly not going to rush him back.”

CLOKE NO CERTAINTY

COLLINGWOOD coach Nathan Buckley says an elbow injury has Travis Cloke in some doubt ahead of Monday’s ANZAC DAY clash against Essendon.

The 230-game veteran appeared restricted in the latter stages of Sunday’s loss to Melbourne and went down to the rooms holding his arm, before running to the field shortly after.

Even if Cloke is passed fit, Buckley suggested his place in the team may still be in jeopardy.

“Clokey is one — and we have quite a young squad at the moment — he’s a senior player with 230 games of experience and we need him to stand up more than he has at this point in time,” Buckley told AFL 360.

“This is going to be a tough period for him. When you’re performing the way we’ve been performing, everything is on the table.”

Ben Reid (knee), Ben Sinclair (concussion) and James Aish (shoulder) all suffered complaints on the weekend.

EAGLE READY TO FLY AGAIN

WEST Coast midfielder Matt Priddis is a certain starter for this Saturday’s clash against Sydney.

The 2014 Brownlow medallist was a late withdrawal from Friday night’s win over Richmond with a minor soft tissue complaint.

“I had a slight groin strain,” Priddis told Channel 9.

“It didn’t quite come up. I was given every opportunity to get up for the game but unfortunately wasn’t able to play.

“I trained with the rehab group today. It’s a controlled environment and I got some really good volume into the legs. I’ll join the main group for the main training session on Wednesday.

“I’ll be right.”

Meanwhile, 2008 Hawthorn premiership player Xavier Ellis has made a miraculous recovery from a partial tear of his Achilles and is a chance to play for East Perth this weekend.

The left footer was expected to be sidelined for more than two months after suffering the injury in Round 1, but trained on Monday.

DONS LOSE LAVERDE

ESSENDON will be without forward Jayden Laverde for 6-8 weeks with a right shoulder injury.

“Jayden had a very significant AC joint injury, which is the joint above the shoulder,” Bombers doctor Bruce Reid told the club’s website.

“Unfortunately, it looks like it’s a grade 3 injury which means he’ll miss a number of weeks.”

Essendon has not ruled out surgery, with further scans this week to determine the next course of action.

Injured Essendon player Jayden Laverde Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: News Corp Australia

NOT MUCH TO CROW ABOUT

ADELAIDE’S Curtly Hampton has suffered a setback in his recovery from a left foot injury. The club elected to send the 23-year-old in for surgery to repair plantar fascia tissue on Friday, meaning he will miss up to two months.

Meanwhile, first-year player Wayne Milera hurt his quad in the last quarter of Saturday’s win over Sydney and will be unavailable for selection in Round 5.

“Wayne, unfortunately, hurt his quad in the last quarter and he’ll be unavailable to play this week,” Crows GM of high performance Brett Burton told the club’s website.

“We’re still gathering information on that and we’ll have an update in the next 24 — 48 hours.”

Burton also said Sam Jacobs was a certainty to play this week after being cleared of any damage to his knee, while Brad Crouch could return from a hamstring strain for Friday night’s game against Hawthorn.

“Brad’s been going along really well over the last week or two,” Burton said.

“He’s been building up his training loads from that slight hamstring strain. We’ll assess him later in the week to see whether he’ll be available for selection.”

ADELAIDE

Curtly Hampton (foot) — 6-8 weeks

Wayne Milera (quad) — 2 weeks

Brad Crouch (hamstring) — test

Paul Seedsman (concussion) — test

BRISBANE

Dayne Beams (knee) — indefinite

Cian Hanley (groin) indefinite

Rhys Mathieson (cheekbone) — test

Darcy Gardiner (elbow) — TBC

Tom Rockliff (calf) — test

Sam Skinner (knee) — 8 weeks

Josh Watts (groin) — 4 weeks

Michael Close (wrist/foot) — 5 weeks

Stefan Martin (concussion) — test

Hugh Beasley (back) - 1 week

Jaden McGrath (foot) - test

CARLTON

Dennis Armfield (hamstring) — 1 week

Harry McKay (back) — 7 weeks

Ciaran Sheehan (hip) — 1 week

Blaine Boekhorst (hamstring) — 1 week

Andrejs Everitt (calf) — test

Andrew Walker (calf) — 1 week

Mark Whiley (calf) — 4 weeks

COLLINGWOOD

Jarrod Witts (hand) — test

Jamie Elliott (back) — 4-12 weeks

Corey Gault (concussion) — test

Jonathon Marsh (hamstring) — test

Matt Scharenberg (knee) — season

Marley Williams (knee) — 3 weeks

Dane Swan (foot/ankle) — season

Jackson Ramsay (knee) — season

Travis Cloke (elbow) — test

Ben Sinclair (concussion) — test

Ben Reid (knee) - test

ESSENDON

Jason Ashby (knee) — 3-4 weeks

Aaron Francis (calf) — 4-5 weeks

Jayden Laverde (shoulder) — 6-8 weeks

Alex Morgan (hamstring) — 3-4 weeks

FREMANTLE

Michael Apeness (knee) — 2 weeks

Aaron Sandilands (chest) — 5-6 weeks

Harley Balic (wrist) — TBC

Harley Bennell (calf) — 7-9 weeks

Sean Hurley (hip) — 8-10 weeks

Zac Clarke (knee) — test

Sean Hurley (hip) — 10-12 weeks

Ethan Hughes (hamstring) — test

Connor Blakeley (toe) — toe

David Mundy (calf) — test

Clancee (hamstring) — 1 week

GEELONG

Mitch Clark (calf) — 2-4 weeks

Cam Delaney (hamstring) — TBC

Sam Menegola (knee) — 1-2 weeks

Scott Selwood (foot) — 4 weeks

Billie Smedts (shoulder) — test

Jackson Thurlow (knee) — season

Tom Read (knee) — 3 weeks

GOLD COAST

Jaeger O’Meara knee) — indefinite

David Swallow (knee) — indefinite

Brayden Fiorini (knee) — test

Jarrod Garlett (AC joint) — test

Mitch Hallahan (foot) — 6-8 weeks

Dion Prestia (shoulder) — test

Danny Stanley (calf) — test

Cameron Loersch (calf) — test

Trent McKenzie (nose) — test

Rory Thompson (ankle) — TBC

GWS GIANTS

Paul Ahern (knee) — season

Cam McCarthy (personal leave) — indefinite

Caleb Marchbank (ankle) — 4-6 weeks

Aidan Corr (ankle) — 3-4 weeks

Jarrod Pickett (foot) — season

Adam Kennedy (concussion) — test

HAWTHORN

Josh Gibson (hamstring) — test

Ryan Schoenmakers (groin) — test

Bradley Hill (wrist) — test

Jarryd Roughead (knee) — 6-8 weeks

Matt Spangher (calf) — test

Alex Woodward (knee) — indefinite

Ryan Burton (leg) - 12 weeks

MELBOURNE

Chris Dawes (calf) — 1 week

Jay Kennedy-Harris (hamstring) — 3 weeks

Jake Spencer (foot) — 3 weeks

Mitch King (knee) — season

NORTH MELBOURNE

Ed Vickers-Willis (shoulder) — 1 week

Jed Anderson (hamstring) — 5-7 weeks

Joel Tippett (back) — 2-4 weeks

Daniel Nielson (knee) — 1-2 weeks

Taylor Garner (hamstring) — 1-2 weeks

Robbie Tarrant (ankle) - test

PORT ADELAIDE

Matt White (pectoral) — indefinite

Dan Houston (hip/groin) — test

Nathan Krakouer (jaw) — test

Alipate Carlile (wrist) — 5-7 weeks

Aidyn Johnson (hamstring) — 6-8 weeks

Jay Schulz (back) — indefinite

RICHMOND

Reece Conca (hamstring) — 3 weeks

Brett Deledio (quad) — TBC

Nathan Drummond (knee) — TBC

Chris Yarran (foot) — 5-6 weeks

Dylan Grimes (hamstring) — TBC

Ben Griffiths (ankle) — test

Shaun Hampson (corked thigh) — test

ST KILDA

Nick O’Kearney (broken arm) — 1 week

Luke Dunstan (hamstring) — test

Jarryn Geary (concussion) — test

Jimmy Webster (quad) — test

Dylan Roberton (knee) — 3 weeks

Brenton Payne (shin stress reaction) — 1 week

SYDNEY

Alex Johnson (knee) — indefinite

Sam Naismith (hand) — test

Sam Reid (hamstring) — 2 weeks

Gary Rohan (hamstring) — 1 week

Michael Talia (foot) — 4-8 weeks

Callum Sinclair (foot) — test

WESTERN BULLDOGS

Clay Smith (knee) — indefinite

Roarke Smith (knee) — indefinite

Nathan Hrovat — 4-6 weeks

Jason Johannisen (hamstring) — 10 weeks

Bob Murphy (knee) — season

Tom Boyd (shoulder) — TBC

Josh Prudden (knee) — season

WEST COAST

Mitch Brown (finger) — 6 weeks

Xavier Ellis (Achilles) — test

Matt Priddis (groin) — test

Dom Sheed (pectoral) — 6 weeks

Simon Tunbridge (foot) — TBA

Alec Waterman (illness) — indefinite