Western Bulldogs superstar Sam Darcy set to avoid surgery on fractured knee after escaping ACL injury
Western Bulldogs star Sam Darcy breathed a sigh of relief when he escaped an ACL injury, and now he is set to avoid surgery altogether.
The 21-year-old hyperextended his left knee on Saturday night and all signs pointed to a season-ending ACL tear.
Scans instead showed a fractured knee and other ligament damage, and expectations have been subverted further with the Dogs' tentative plan for an operation scrapped.
'It's my understanding the superstar forward has avoided surgery,' 7NEWS Melbourne's Mitch Cleary reported.
'After meeting experts he's expected to avoid going under the knife, giving great optimism of a home-and-away season return.'
The Bulldogs hinted at the growing possibility on Tuesday in their weekly injury update.
'We are currently working through opinions and options on how to best manage Sam and will update his return-to-play timeline in the coming days,' medical boss Chris Bell said.
Initial fears of an ACL brought the Darcy family's shattering history into view.
He went down just under 20 years to the day since father and 226-game Bulldogs great Luke suffered the first of two serious knee injuries that sidelined him for most of 2005-06.
All eyes will now be on Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge's team announcement on Thursday ahead of Saturday night's clash with the GWS Giants.
The premiership-winning coach said he intends to get creative to replace the 208cm Darcy, who was already up to 14 goals this year, as the eighth-placed Dogs (3-3) chase a finals berth.
Beveridge will turn to his 'role-player options' to fill the void next to Aaron Naughton, and hinted he could also use a smaller line-up,
Tall first-round draft picks Jordan Croft and Jedd Busslinger, both of whom are yet to debut at AFL level, could also be used as the coach juggles options in the forward and back lines.
'Buku (Khamis) can play either end of the ground, as James (O'Donnell) can,' Beveridge said.
'We think long-term James is probably more of a key back for us.
'It's not in the Plan A approach to the game to play Rory (Lobb) forward at the start of a game, but it is an option.
'He'll do anything for the team — he's a great team man like that.
'And the other option is to just play a bit smaller at times.'
Beveridge's short-term fix won't include troubled star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, last year's leading goalkicker who remains unavailable for selection as he deals with personal issues.
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