Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan has described losing gun forward Eric Hipwood to a season-ending knee injury as a “savage blow” for the AFL premiership contenders.
The 23-year-old went down during the first quarter of the Lions’ upset 32-point loss to St Kilda on Saturday night with scans almost certainly to confirm an ACL rupture.
Hipwood, who had put together a strong season with 26 goals, is the second Lions forward to injure his knee at Metricon Stadium this year after young gun Cameron Rayner hurt himself during the pre-season.
“It’s the worst. It didn’t seem like much of an incident,” Fagan said.
“That’s a pretty savage blow to Eric and the club.
“At this point in the season, he’s a really important player for us.
“We’ll have to lick our wounds on that one and try to find another key position forward.”
Fagan flagged unheralded pair Connor Ballenden and Tom Fullarton as possible replacements in the Lions’ forward line to combine with Joe Daniher and Daniel McStay.
Defender Brandon Starcevich also pulled up sore following just the Lions’ second loss in their last 12 games and will be assessed for a neck issue.
Brisbane (11-5) will need to regroup quickly before tackling Richmond at the MCG on Friday night as the Lions seek to consolidate their position in the top-four.
Their match against the Saints was moved from the Gabba to Metricon Stadium due to COVID-19 complications and players will now return to Brisbane after being away from home for two weeks.
“In the current day and age you can’t use it as an excuse,” Fagan said.
“These things just happen. You look at the NSW teams stuck down in Melbourne at the moment and it looks like it’s going to be that way for quite some time.
“It’s challenging for everyone but it’s the way of the world at the moment.”
© AAP
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