Defender Bailey Williams could miss up to a month of football, after sustaining a collarbone injury in the Western Bulldogs’ big win against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday.
Williams came off in the third quarter, with scans over the weekend confirming a fracture.
He has had surgery to repair the injury, which will end his streak of 23 consecutive AFL matches.
“In the third quarter, Bailey came to the bench after a heavy hit to his collarbone,” head of sports medicine, Chris Bell, said.
“Scans have confirmed that he did fracture his collarbone and that required surgery today.
“In the next couple of days, we’ll confirm his plan, but expect him to miss the next two-to-four weeks.”
Laitham Vandermeer was a late withdrawal on Saturday with back spasms but is expected to be available to face the GWS Giants this week.
“On the morning of the game, Laitham reported that he had some back spasms,” Bell said.
“He’s come in much better today and we’ll work through a process with Laitham this week to determine his availability – but we expect him to be back playing this weekend.”
Injury list
Laitham Vandermeer (back) test
Bailey Williams (collarbone) 2-4 weeks
Ed Richards (ankle) 3-5 weeks
Ryan Gardner (shoulder) 4-6 weeks
Toby McLean (knee) 5-7 weeks
