Richmond star Martin will stay in Queensland after checking out of hospital

Richmond will allow superstar Dustin Martin to remain in Queensland as he begins his rehabilitation from a lacerated kidney.

Martin was discharged from hospital on Sunday, nine days after an on-field collision with Brisbane’s Mitch Robinson ended his season.

The 30-year-old will stay in Queensland instead of returning home to Melbourne, which remains in COVID-19 lockdown.

He is allowed to move freely in Queensland, given he arrived in the state on July 15 – two days before the border restrictions were imposed on people travelling from Victoria.

“He’ll stay up there and get some rest and relaxation and get some sun and get himself right,” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said after a 38-point loss to Geelong at the MCG on Sunday.

“He’d love to be back with us here, but there’s no point when we’re going over to Perth for six days of lockdown (before playing against Fremantle in round 20).

“He’ll stay up there for the short-term.

“We’re not too sure what it looks like moving forward but it’s just important that he gets his recuperation right.

“The sunshine generally does that, so he’ll stay up there for a period of time.”

Hardwick said this week Martin had been in a lot more pain than he had anticipated.

The three-time premiership hero will not be allowed to participate in contact training for at least three months.

“He’s a very strong lad, Dustin, as you can imagine, but he’s certainly a lot sorer than he thought he would be,” Hardwick said on Friday.

“It’s a significant injury, which is why he won’t play football for the remainder of the year, but he’s in good spirits.”

The incredibly durable Martin has played at least 20 matches in each of his 11 completed seasons for a tally of 260 games.

Such a setback has the ability to be mentally draining but Hardwick said Martin was well-equipped to cope with an extended stint on the sidelines.

“He’d love to be around us, he’d love to be with us, but he’s dealing with it as best he can,” Hardwick said.

“The one thing that I will say about Dustin is mentally he handles these things very well.

“He does a lot of work in that space, so he’s in as good a place as he can be at present.”