RICHMOND will be without Dion Prestia for the next few weeks after scans confirmed on Monday the star midfielder has suffered a hamstring tear.
The 29-year-old was substituted out of last Thursday night's round one loss to Carlton early in the second quarter, continuing his frustrating history of soft tissue issues.
Prestia was hampered by repeated hamstring issues throughout last season and has managed only nine games in 2021 after playing nine times in 2020.
AFL.com.au understands the former Sun isn’t suffering strains in the same spot, rather strains low, high and on the belly of the hamstring making the issue even more frustrating for Prestia and the high performance department at Richmond.
The three-time premierships midfielder looked set to turn the corner in 2022 following a standout pre-season that many inside the Swinburne Centre had labelled among the top few trainers on the track over the summer.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick expressed his disappointment for Prestia in the aftermath of the season-opener fade out at the MCG, a sentiment shared by the football department who had hoped the Victorian would get a clean run at it this season.
Prestia accumulated 10 touches in the opening quarter and was a key reason why the Tigers had burst out of the blocks against the Blues at the MCG.
The Tigers were already missing premiership players Kane Lambert (hip), Nick Vlastuin (hamstring) and Kamdyn McIntosh (calf) heading into the season and will also lose Jack Riewoldt in the short term.
The triple Coleman Medal winner broke his thumb early in the clash against the Blues and played out the game, before undergoing surgery to repair the damage over the weekend.
The club expects the 33-year-old to miss this Sunday's clash against Greater Western Sydney and potentially the clash against St Kilda at the MCG the following week.
McIntosh will train this week and aim to put his hand up to return for the game at the MCG, while Vlastuin is understood to still be a fortnight away from being available for selection.
