PORT Adelaide star Chad Wingard’s season is over after injuring his right hamstring against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
Wingard kicked Port’s first goal but limped heavily when escorted down into the Power’s rooms early in the second term.
He emerged, still limping badly with ice taped to the back of his upper thigh.
The 23-year-old missed his side’s round three clash against Essendon with hamstring issues and, with just two more games remaining, it looms unlikely he’d return to take on either Adelaide next week or Gold Coast in round 23.
Power coach Ken Hinkley said it was a serious hamstring injury and one that reflected the type of luck his side had been forced to contend with injury woes in 2016.
“It’s a significant hamstring, he obviously won’t play any more football this year,” Hinkley said.
“It’s a pretty good assessment of what’s happened to us away from the game-day stuff throughout the year, the types of things we’ve had to deal with have been a little bit more than we would’ve liked.
“Lost (Matt) White again today with a potential fractured cheekbone, Wingard with a hamstring, (Hamish) Hartlett’s ruled out now with a calf, so there’s a few, but that’s the footy season and that’s what happens.
“You make you own luck and we’ve made some bad luck.”
White will require surgery after fracturing his cheekbone in the SANFL on Saturday, just four games into his return from a torn pectoral muscle.
The club could also be without key forward Charlie Dixon, who has battled an ankle injury in recent weeks.
He was well below his best against the Demons and appeared obviously hampered by the injury.
Hinkley said there was a good chance he’d be rested.
“He’s given his all as far as trying to compete and stuff, but maybe there¹s a decision there we have to look at, can he actually do everything he needs to do for Charlie to be the player we want him to be?” he said.
“And right now, perhaps the right thing is not to play Charlie. I don't know. We’ll look at that early in the week.
“If there’s any risk with Charlie going forward, we’ll take that out now.’'
