North Melbourne enjoyed a blowout win over the hapless Melbourne Demons on Saturday afternoon, but the 122-point victory came at a cost after captain Andrew Swallow ruptured his left Achilles.
Swollow hit the ground during the third term of the 22.18 (150) to 4.4 (28) win despite any type of notable contact, clutching the Achilles region of the injured leg.
North spokesman Heath O’Loughlin tweeted shortly after, “Appears to be an Achilles injury to Swallow. Severity won’t be known until he has scans.”
Channel Seven medical expert Peter Larkins gave an early assessment on Twitter.
“If all goes well Andrew Swallow should be playing senior footy in first half 2014 season after achilles repair,” Larkins Tweeted during the game.
Jarryd Roughead is the most recent example of a high profile player to suffer an Achilles injury. He endured a similar injury after playing 12 games in 2011, but returned by Round 2 of the following season.
North’s 16 goals to one second half propelled the Kangaroos to their seventh win of the season. They will finish Round 18 two games out of the eight, however the Swallow injury will not likely impact the club’s chances of playing finals football with the likes of Geelong, Adelaide, Essendon, Hawthorn, Collingwood scheduled over the AFL’s final five weeks.
Todd Goldstein led North with 20 possessions and 49 hit-outs while Brent Harvey collected a game-high 35 possessions. Lachlan Hansen and Scott Thompson starred in defence and at the other end of the ground Ryan Bastinac and Aaron Black paced the Kangaroos, kicking four goals each.
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