NORTH Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell has avoided a ruptured ACL but will take up to eight weeks to recover from a knee injury.
The star midfielder could still play in Round 2 of the AFL season with the competition postponed until at least May 31 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
But the injury against St Kilda on Sunday was still a blow for Ziebell after he battled persistent calf issues during the pre-season.
“I’ve never done one before, but I know a few blokes who have and I thought medial (injury) straight away,” Ziebell said.
“I got a scan on Monday and revealed exactly what the doctors thought and that’s a higher-grade medial strain and probably miss six-to-eight weeks.
“It’s not ideal, but if there’s a time to be injured, it’s probably now.”
Ziebell was one of three Kangaroos players alongside defender Josh Walker (concussion) and Paul Ahearn (hamstring) to be injured in the comeback two-point victory over the Saints at Marvel Stadium.
The 29-year-old said it would be a unique challenge trying to rehabilitate his knee during the AFL’s shutdown period.
“The next month I’ll probably be stuck in a brace and a couple of our physios will be in contact. You can do most of the (recovery) stuff through FaceTime,” Ziebell said.
“On Monday a lot of the boys were loading up on exercise equipment.
“I was in there grabbing what I can for my knee rehab so I’ll be able to most of my stuff from home.”
© AAP 2020
