Collingwood star Steele Sidebottom needs surgery after he was kicked in the groin at training ahead of their big AFL clash with Essendon.
In news that likely had every male wincing, Sidebottom suffered a ruptured testicle and will have the operation on Wednesday evening.
He will definitely miss Friday night’s blockbuster and it is unclear when the Magpies’ reigning best-and-fairest will play again.
“Steele was in clear discomfort but the extent of the injury and an anticipated recovery period won’t be known until after the surgery,” Magpies football boss Geoff Walsh said.
Sidebottom has played every game this season and his absence is a major blow for Collingwood ahead of Friday’s game.
The Magpies are fifth and could return to the top four if they beat Essendon and other results go their way.
Sidebottom, who has won Collingwood’s past two best-and-fairest awards, also made the All-Australian team last year for the first time.
He had a streak of playing 88 consecutive games that started in round four, 2016.
The Magpies hope the pre-finals bye weekend will mean Sidebottom is able to play in September.
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Two MCG blockbusters will take place this weekend, with the prize on the line being the prestige of playing on a day steeped in Australian cultural lore, the last Saturday in September, otherwise known as the AFL grand final.
As the clock in an odd, arrhythmic, finals-like final between Collingwood and Geelong dripped away, Patrick Dangerfield threatened to make things suddenly epic.
As tends to be the case with every contentious issue in the AFL, the perception from the general public is based on misinformation and an inability to interpret facts. This is certainly true for the kit clash between Geelong and Collingwood last Friday night.
When these two sides last met in Round 1, Collingwood were unable to hold on against a rampaging Geelong led by Tim Kelly despite briefly regaining the lead in the last quarter.
The Collingwood Magpies have defeated the Geelong Cats by 10 points at the MCG on Friday night, booking themselves a preliminary final spot in the process.
The first spot in the AFL preliminary finals go on the line when the Geelong Cats and Collingwood Magpies clash in the first qualifying final on Friday evening. This is The Roar’s guide to live streaming the match online, or watching it on TV.
