Geelong captain Patrick Dangerfield has ruled forward Tyson Stengle out of the Cats' Opening Round clash against Gold Coast, despite the 27-year-old returning to full training this week.
Stengle was prominent in the main group during the club's community day in Warrnambool on Wednesday, with utility Jack Bowes highlighting that the 2022 premiership player had been training well since returning from his extended leave of absence, which was granted by the club in January.
However, Dangerfield said the Cats won't be rushing Stengle back into the senior side as he continues to manage "personal challenges", with the club prioritising a sustainable approach to ensure he can return to playing his All-Australian calibre football effectively.
"I wouldn't have thought it's realistic [for Stengle to play Opening Round]," Dangerfield said on Thursday.
"We want to be mindful that we want Tyson playing his best footy as quickly as possible, but in the most important parts of the season.
"You have to win games early enough to put yourself in a position to compete, but we're mindful of where he's at and the personal challenges he's had.
"We've been really supportive of that. Tying into that line of thinking, we'll make a really considered approach to when he's ready to get back into fully playing games.
"He's doing full training at the moment, but we'll just make sure that progression is slow, consistent and sustainable, once he's up and running."
Stengle played 24 games in 2025 and kicked 34 goals, contributing six score involvements in the Grand Final defeat to Brisbane.
No timeline for Stengle has been officially confirmed by Geelong, though Channel 7's Xander McGuire reported on Thursday that he won't be "looking at AFL footy until later in the year".
