Belmont Lions co-coach Andy Walsgott has labelled a season-ending injury suffered by Josh Allen as “shattering”.
Allen suffered damage to his lower leg in the weekend win over Winchelsea, a victory that confirmed the Lions would start their finals campaign from a qualifying final.
“It’s looking like a broken foot/ankle and a bit of the fibula as well, so he’s done a good job of it,” Walsgott said.
“We’re planning not to have him for the rest of the year, which is very, very disappointing.”
Allen has played all his football with the Lions, starting in the under-10s in 2010.
He’s pulled on the maroon, gold and blue on nearly 300 occasions, with 42 senior appearances since making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2018.
“It’s shattering for him,” Walsgott said.
“We’ll get him right over the break, and – fingers crossed – we’ll go with him again next year.”
Walsgott says Allen would have relished the vast expanses of St Albans, where the Lions will make their first appearance since 2015 and for just the second occasion since the club’s only senior premiership in 2007.
“We had big plans for him; he’s part of the wings and getting through the forwards.
“One of the positions we couldn’t afford to lose is that pressure small forward that gets across the ground and hits the scoreboard as well.
“A lot of our forwards are keen to get out of Winter Reserve and the expanses of St Albans.
“Unfortunately, we’ll be without him for that, and we’ll have to try and plug that gap.”
After being managed last week, big man Jed Evans will return for the meeting with Bannockburn.
Reigning best-and-fairest Harry Thomson, Dave Allitt and Ben McPherson are also a chance to take on the Tigers.
After successfully negotiating his return via the reserves, Andrew Wylie will also be considered.
However, Walsgott remains non-committal about his own return, having suffered two concussions before receiving another knock at training last month.
He’s been limited to just three senior games this year, with his last appearance in the Round 10 win over Bell Post Hill.
“I’ve had two in fairly quick succession this year, and it’s made a fairly big impact on my life, work life, and everything else this year,” he said.
“I’m medically good to go, but I’m just not sure where I sit with that.
“The ease of the last one probably puts a little bit of a cloud over it.
“Whilst we do have some stock for small forwards at the moment, we lost Josh on the weekend, and if we were to lose another one, it might force my hand a little bit.
“But, the primary focus is my health. I’m still planning on playing next year, so I’ve got that in the back of my mind as well.”
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