Ablett injury worse than feared, Cats confirm

GEELONG champion Gary Ablett will miss two to three weeks after scans revealed he has a strained left adductor.

Ablett came from the ground in Sunday’s win over Melbourne in noticeable discomfort.

Teammate Scott Simpson will be on the sidelines for three months after fracturing his right ankle in Geelong's VFL match against Port Melbourne on the weekend.

Geelong football manager Neil Balme said Ablett had no problem with the adductor before straining it on Sunday.

“It is kind of an acute injury, and it happened on the weekend,” Balme said.

Cats coach Mark Thompson said after the win over Melbourne that Ablett has had issues with that part of his body.

“He does get tight groins periodically, and some weeks pulls up tighter than others,” he said.
“We're certainly not going to play him to make him sore."

Ablett is likely to miss Geelong's upcoming games against the Sydney Swans, North Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs. He joins Cameron Ling, Brad Ottens, Tom Harley, Matthew Egan and Josh Hunt on the sidelines, although Harley is a chance to return for his first game of the season against the Swans on Saturday.

Ablett is the red-hot Brownlow Medal favourite after grabbing 46 possessions against Adelaide in round four at AAMI Stadium followed by 42 against the Brisbane Lions in round five.

He was the AFLPA's MVP in both 2007 and 2008, but missed out on the Brownlow Medal each time. He missed four matches in 2008, three with an ankle injury and one with a calf.

On Simpson, Balme said the club had no plans to elevate a rookie in place of the injured 19-year-old.

“He did it in the last 10 minutes of the game, the poor bugger. He twisted his ankle and fractured it, unfortunately."