GEELONG CAPTAIN JOEL SELWOOD TO HAVE ANKLE SURGERY, MAY RETURN FOR FINALS
Ben Jensen 6 August 2017

JOEL SELWOOD ANKLE SURGERY GEELONG skipper Joel Selwood will have surgery on his left ankle following a "syndesmosis" injury in Friday night's thumping by the Sydney Swans. As a result he will miss all remaining home and away matches against Richmond, Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney, and the club hope he will return for the finals. Selwood suffered the injury on Friday night in the second quarter and had to be helped from the field by club doctor Geoff Allen and another member of staff, the door behind them immediately closed signalling it wasn't good. He did return after half-time but spend limited time on the field and was finally taken off for good in the final term when it was obvious the Cats weren't going to catch the Swans.

The injury comes at the worst possible time for the Cats who really need a win against Richmond on Saturday to keep their home finals chance alive, the Tigers led by Dustin Martin untroubled by Hawthorn today so far and likely to be in third spot by round's end, overtaking the Cats who will be in fourth spot. Patrick Dangerfield will return from suspension while the likes of Dan Menzel are a chance to return.

Skipper @joelselwood14 will undergo surgery on his ankle. More details here - https://t.co/UdbVWk93Pa

— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) August 6, 2017

3AW'S Doctor Peter Larkins said that the ankle repair surgery is similar to that underwent by the Western Bulldogs' Tom Liberatore in 2016, with "return possible in 5- 6 weeks if all goes well".

Joel Selwood to have similar ankle repair surgery to bulldog Tom Liberatore- return possible in 5- 6 weeks if all goes well

— Dr Peter Larkins (@doclarkins) August 6, 2017

CLUB STATEMENT

Geelong captain Joel Selwood will undergo surgery on his left ankle after suffering a syndesmosis injury during Friday night's clash with Sydney.

The decision came after consulting with specialists in the field.

Selwood will not be available for the remaining three home and away games but is expected to be able to return for the finals series.