Polak long-term injury plan shelved

RICHMOND has shelved plans to move defender Graham Polak to its long-term injury list after naming him to play against St Kilda in Friday night's NAB Challenge match in Shepparton.

It was in December that the Tigers sought to rookie-list Polak, who was nearing six months' recovery from a tram accident that left him with serious head injuries.

Club officials were unsure whether he would ever return to elite-level football.

When the AFL rejected Richmond's request, Polak was expected to see out 2009 on the long-term injury list.

But after an impressive couple of weeks on the track, football operations manager Ross Monaghan said the club was likely to keep him on the senior list and available for selection.

"We would think that unless he regresses pretty dramatically we would not be going down that line because his recovery has staggered us," Monaghan said.

"We would expect now that given the run he’s had in recent weeks that it is most likely he will play some footy. At what level will be determined in weeks to come but Friday night will give us some indication."

Polak will only play part of the match in Shepparton and Monaghan said the Tigers would carefully monitor his time on the field.

"There will be no hard and fast rule for him," Monaghan said. "It depends on how he feels during the course of the game.

"Our medical staff are terrific at monitoring that and Graham knows himself really well now."

Though Polak’s recovery has exceeded expectations, Monaghan would not reveal when fans could expect his permanent return to the line-up.

"No one is interested in putting a timeline on him because it is a week to week situation," Monaghan said.

"We will just see how he feels next week and what he does the following week will be determined by how he gets through this weekend’s game."