Hawthorn captain Ben McEvoy is out indefinitely after suffering a neck fracture at training on Thursday.
McEvoy won’t require surgery but early indications are he will be sidelined until the second half of the season, which means about three months’ recovery time.
But the 32-year-old ruckman won’t require surgery to fix the problem, which happened when he collided with a teammatexjmtzyw in a contest drill.
Just like when McEvoy was in the AFL’s health and safety protocols and sat out round 1, Jaeger O’Meara will step up in his absence to skipper the Hawks for Sunday’s clash with Carlton.
“I’ve been to have some scans (on Thursday) afternoon and confirmed that unfortunately I’ve got a small fracture in one of the lateral bones in my neck,” McEvoy said.
“So I’m going to have some time out of the game while that heals, but I’m really pleased that I’m expected to make a full recovery with no ongoing complications.
“It’s a bit frustrating to be out of football for a while but, in a life sense, I’m really pleased to have my health and be able to make a full recovery.”
Hawthorn doctor Liam West said McEvoy’s setback would not stop him from playing football but wasn’t expected to play again until the “back half of the season”.
Ned Reeves is set to carry a significant ruck load in McEvoy’s absence against Blues duo Marc Pittonet and Tom De Koning, with Max Lynch (concussion) not recalled after missing last week.
