JARRYN Geary says the knowledge he contributed to teammate Nathan Wright's broken leg haunted him throughout the second half of St Kilda's loss to Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.
Geary and Wright collided mid-air in the second quarter of the Saints' 86-point loss with both coming to ground and the latter landing awkwardly.
Geary was able to get up and chase the ball while Wright was slower to move before being assisted from the field by two trainers when the pain of the break took hold.
The Saints were relatively sure he had fractured his fibula before the game finished. Scans later confirmed the injury and he had surgery on Monday.
Geary said he didn't know the extent of Wright's injury until half-time and thought his teammate had been slow to get up because of possible concussion.
Thoughts of Wright's bad break and its consequences for his teammate's season dogged him for the rest of the afternoon.
"I did feel bad and it sort of played on my mind throughout the game and then at half-time I went and spoke to him and he told me he'd hurt his leg," Geary said on Tuesday.
"I was a bit concerned and as the game went on, it was in the back of my mind.
"He assured me he didn't think there was much in it, which was nice of him but it's not ideal, you don't feel too good about doing those types of things to your own teammates."
Wright hasn't been into the club since his operation, which will see him miss between 10 and 12 weeks.
Geary said the two had communicated via text message and on the phone, with the youngster keen to avoid placing blame.
"It was just a split-second decision and I suppose we both had our eyes on the ball and it would have been nice for one of us to take out the opposition player rather than each other," he said.
"It didn't work out that way and he's come off second-best, which is unfortunate for him and it's just one of those things that happens and hopefully it doesn't happen again.
"He told me he's going to bulk up and get in the gym and hit that pretty hard so he's already got a thing to focus on, which is what you need when you're in that stage.
"I just look forward to having him back in the team because he's a really good teammate and he helps me out playing on the small forwards and makes my life easier so it's going to be a little bit tougher without him."
The Saints will look to make amends for their heavy loss to the Crows on when they face Essendon at Etihad Stadium Saturday night.
Former Saint Brendon Goddard is in doubt for the match after suffering a groin strain in the warm up against Fremantle on Sunday.
Geary said the Saints hoped their ex-teammate would take to the field, mainly for their younger players to continue gaining valuable experience against the competition's best players.
"He's a great player as well and with where we're at as a club, with how many young players we've got in the team, we always want them coming up against the top players in the competition," he said.
"Ideally he plays and we play their best team and have a real test against their best team."
