Richmond physical performance manager Peter Burge believes injury-prone Tiger Dion Prestia can rebound quickly from his latest hamstring setback.
The triple premiership star played only nine games in each of the past two seasons because of soft-tissue injuries but Richmond officials thought he was primed to bounce back after an excellent pre-season.
Another Prestia hamstring issue in Richmond’s season-opening defeat to Carlton last Thursday night has left the Tigers frustrated as they seek a remedy for the persistent problem.
The plan is to ramp up the 29-year-old’s running later in the week but Burge hopes his absence will be “fairly short term”.
“Dion’s had a fantastic preparation this year – uninterrupted, done a lot of work, put a lot of kilometres in, done a lot of strength work – and we’ve ended up with a soft-tissue injury,” Burge said.
“It is on the minor side, which is good news, and he was out running (on Tuesday).
“With hamstring injuries; typically you injure the biceps muscle, which is the large hamstring muscle, and there are two other muscles that support that, the semitendinosus and semimembranosus.
“He’s injured the semimembranosus component of his hamstring, and the lower third of that, so it’s on the minor side.
“Typically they turn around fairly quickly and that’s what we’re hoping will happen in this case.”
Kamdyn McIntosh (calf) will be available for selection if he negotiates main training on Thursday, while surgeons inserted a plate in the base of Jack Riewoldt’s fractured thumb but he could return next week.
Burge said defender Nick Vlastuin’s hamstring injury was “more complicated” despite him now running close to top speed.
“It was a kicking-related injury and the injury is quite low on his biceps muscle in his hamstring group,” he said.
“We’re progressing his kicking in a very structured and specific manner … to a point where hopefully he’s kicking the full-size footy over a long distance in the next week or two.
“In terms of timewise, he’s certainly not playing this week and I’d say he’s doubtful for the following week.”
Kame Lambert (hip) remains without a timeline but is completing everything at training except for match play.
