The Western Bulldogs’ worst fears have been realised, with the club today confirming skipper Robert Murphy has ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The injury occurred in the dying minutes of the Dogs’ loss to the Hawks at Etihad Stadium, when Murphy twisted his knee attempting to spoil a mark by James Sicily.
“Bob’s scans have just come in and they do confirm that he has ruptured his ACL and he has some medial ligament damage as well,” football manager Graham Lowe told westernbulldogs.com.au.
Murphy now faces a decision on what treatment to undergo for the injury.
The recovery time from a traditional knee reconstruction is generally around 12 months, and undergoing such an operation would scupper any chances of Murphy returning in 2016.
However there is also the alternate treatment of ligament augmentation reconstruction system (LARS) surgery. LARS surgery has been used by a number of AFL players, including Nick Malceski, who was one of the first to opt for the procedure in 2008.
The recovery time for LARS surgery is far shorter than a traditional reconstruction; Malceski had a 15-week turnaround between undergoing the procedure and returning for the Swans in 2008.
“We’re going to give Bob time to consider his position, and plans for moving forward,” said Lowe.
The injury is a major blow to the Bulldogs, whose form over the first three weeks of the season had many pundits tipping them as genuine contenders for the premiership.
That becomes considerably more difficult without Murphy, who was selected as the captain of the All Australian team last year.
Easton Wood is expected to captain the Bulldogs in Murphy’s absence, however Wood himself is battling hamstring tightness, which ruled him out of the Hawks clash on Sunday.
He is a chance to play on Saturday night, when the Bulldogs take on Carlton, however the Dogs will be loath to rush back their All Australian defender so soon after losing Murphy.
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