VERSATILE Demon Cale Morton says he is unlikely to play in round one against the Sydney Swans at the MCG, due to injury.
Morton ruptured the flexor tendon in his left ring finger in the lead-up to last Friday’s NAB Cup matches against Adelaide and Port Adelaide.
Although he remains hopeful of being available for Melbourne’s season opener, Morton is realistic about his chances.
“I haven’t penciled in anything. I’d love to play round one, but I think that’s a bit of an outside chance at the moment,” he said from Melbourne’s community camp at Leongatha on Monday.
“Realistically, it won’t be until round three or four, but if I can do everything to get back as soon as possible, then that’d be great.
“But it’s still six to eight weeks at the moment.”
Morton said he was shattered to sustain the injury on the eve of the NAB Cup.
“It was very devastating to come down with the injury last week, but it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with … there’s not much I can do for the next six weeks,” he said.
“Until then, I’ve got to keep it in the splint and not touch anything, but after that, I can do rehab. I hope it’s only a couple of weeks of rehab before I get back into things.
“I’ll still be able to do running and keep my weights program up, so that’s a good thing and I won’t be missing any fitness or anything like that. When I come back and play, I’ll be ready to go.”
It’s the second year in succession, the normally durable Morton, has gained a pre-season injury. Last year, he hurt his knee and missed the early part of 2010.
“What made it worse was that I injured my knee this time last year and missed the NAB Cup,” he said.
“It was very devastating to me to go through this again, but hopefully I come out of it a better person.”
Morton said he spoke to Brent Moloney, who suffered a similar injury a few years back.
“He’s fine now and I’m hoping that’ll be the case with me too,” he said.
Morton ruptured the flexor tendon in his left ring finger in the lead-up to last Friday’s NAB Cup matches against Adelaide and Port Adelaide.
Although he remains hopeful of being available for Melbourne’s season opener, Morton is realistic about his chances.
“I haven’t penciled in anything. I’d love to play round one, but I think that’s a bit of an outside chance at the moment,” he said from Melbourne’s community camp at Leongatha on Monday.
“Realistically, it won’t be until round three or four, but if I can do everything to get back as soon as possible, then that’d be great.
“But it’s still six to eight weeks at the moment.”
Morton said he was shattered to sustain the injury on the eve of the NAB Cup.
“It was very devastating to come down with the injury last week, but it’s something that I’m going to have to deal with … there’s not much I can do for the next six weeks,” he said.
“Until then, I’ve got to keep it in the splint and not touch anything, but after that, I can do rehab. I hope it’s only a couple of weeks of rehab before I get back into things.
“I’ll still be able to do running and keep my weights program up, so that’s a good thing and I won’t be missing any fitness or anything like that. When I come back and play, I’ll be ready to go.”
It’s the second year in succession, the normally durable Morton, has gained a pre-season injury. Last year, he hurt his knee and missed the early part of 2010.
“What made it worse was that I injured my knee this time last year and missed the NAB Cup,” he said.
“It was very devastating to me to go through this again, but hopefully I come out of it a better person.”
Morton said he spoke to Brent Moloney, who suffered a similar injury a few years back.
“He’s fine now and I’m hoping that’ll be the case with me too,” he said.
