Carlton defender Caleb Marchbank has been dealt the cruellest of blows with the injury-plagued Blue set to miss 6-8 weeks with a lateral meniscus tear.
Having returned for the Blues in last Friday night's win over Essendon, Marchbank was playing his first game since 2019. He had missed time with neck, ankle and knee injuries.
Zero Hanger spoke to the Blues who confirmed the injury was to the opposite knee to which he received a knock to that saw him miss a VFL game the week prior.
"The knock in the VFL game wasn't serious, (there were) no lingering effects on that one," the Blues confirmed.
According to the Blues, Marchbank "underwent an assessment for a knee complaint, which required further specialist consultation.
Carlton Head of Football Brad Lloyd said the Blues would put an arm around Marchbank as he embarks on another lengthy rehab process.
“Caleb is understandably really disappointed, as we are as a footy club, given how hard we all know Caleb has worked to get himself back and ready to play at the elite level,” Lloyd said.
“Caleb has had more than his fair share of bad luck, which makes this news tough to hear, but as we all saw on Friday night he is more than capable of performing at the level and all we can do is support him through this period of his recovery, we have no doubt the Carlton faithful will do the same.”
The Blues were thrilled to welcome back the 25-year-old last weekend, with the tall defensive stocks at Carlton wearing incredibly thin. However, this cruel blow now means the Blues who are already without Jacob Weitering, Mitch McGovern and Oscar McDonald, may be forced to turn to mid-season draftee Sam Durdin.
With Richmond expected to welcome back Tom Lynch for the Thursday night blockbuster, the job for Cartlon's defence has been made even more challenging by the blow to Marchbank.
Carlton's injury woes don't end there with midfielder Adam Cerra expected to miss the next fortnight after suffering a minor hamstring strain in the early stages of the win over the Bombers.
Weitering and ruckman Marc Pittonet are expected to return in four weeks from their respective injuries.
