DEFENDER Nick Malceski will make his return to the Sydney Swans senior side 11 weeks after surgery to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Malceski opted for LARS surgery, which involves the use of a synthetic ligament to repair the knee.
He played in the Swans reserves last week, just 72 days after his operation, and performed so well that the coaching staff had no hesitation in elevating him to the senior side to take on Hawthorn this week.
Malceski opted for LARS surgery, which involves the use of a synthetic ligament to repair the knee.
He played in the Swans reserves last week, just 72 days after his operation, and performed so well that the coaching staff had no hesitation in elevating him to the senior side to take on Hawthorn this week.
Malceski has been named in a squad of 25 for the Swans game at the SCG on Sunday, but coach John Longmire confirmed the dashing half-back would definitely play.
“He’s back in and it’s a great effort,’’ Longmire told sydneyswans.com.au
“We know he’s a quality player, he’s a great ball user and he’s versatile. The way he’s been going about his business the last four weeks has been fantastic.
“Last week he played almost 70 minutes in the reserves and looked super-confident the way he was running and twisting and turning, so it was a pretty compelling case he was putting forward.
“There wasn’t a lot of debate at match committee and he was bashing the door down to play,’’ Longmire said.
Young midfielder Nathan Gordon, who made his AFL debut in round seven this year, will return to the reserves to make way for the experienced Malceski.
Three other players - Mark Seaby, Brett Meredith and Lewis Johnston - have been added to the squad of 25 named to take on the Hawks. Longmire said any other changes would be decided after training tomorrow morning.
Malceski has previously had both conventional knee reconstruction surgery and LARS surgery.
Swans physiotherapist Matt Cameron said Malceski’s rehabilitation had progressed “without a hitch’’.
“Because the injury happened at the end of the long block of pre-season training, he was already very fit,’’ Cameron said.
“And then after the surgery he only missed four weeks of running, which is shorter than it would be for many other injuries.
“We’ve been able to progress Nick through the rehab more quickly this time because he’s had the surgery before. That meant no new holes had to be drilled in his bone and there was far less surgical trauma to overcome this time.
“The fact that he’s been through it before also meant that Nick had less of a mental hurdle to overcome. Any trepidation he felt in the rehab phase was much less than last time, ’’ Cameron said.
The full squad is:
B: R.Shaw, T.Richards, A.Johnson
HB: T.Kennelly, H.Grundy, N.Smith
C: N.Malceski, J.Bolton, J.McVeigh
HF: B.McGlynn, S.Reid, J.Kennedy
F: A.Everitt, A.Goodes, R.O'Keefe
Foll: S.Mumford, C.Bird, D.Hannebery
I/C From: L.Jetta, L.Johnston, M.Mattner, B.Meredith, L.Parker, L.Roberts-Thomson, M.Seaby
In: M.Seaby , N.Malceski , B.Meredith , L.Johnston
Out: N.Gordon
New: L.Johnston (North Adelaide (SA))
Milestone: S.Mumford - 50 games
