Long-term’ Hawks injury fear as soft tissue strikes Swan again in Opening Rd fallout
It was a scintillating start to the 2025 season, but there are injury fears on either side of Hawthorn’sHawthorn’s 20-point victory over Sydney at the SCG.
There are syndesmosis fears for impactful Hawks midfielder James Worpel, while Swans veteran Taylor Adams is set to again be sidelined by a hamstring strain.
On the cusp of half time, Worpel was brought to ground in a tackle and in the process, his right ankle awkwardly twisted as he was left in “real pain”
It came after the 26-year-old set the tone early in Hawthorn’s nucleus, recording 11 disposals, six score involvements, five clearances and four inside-50s before half-time to give opposition coach Dean Cox headaches.
However, concerns over the midfielder’s ankle were confirmed coming out of the main change, with the Hawks’ medical team swiftly ruling him out of any further action
Post-game, Fox Footy and Herald Sun reporter Jon Ralph shared the latest in potentially worrying news for the Hawks.
“Normal procedure is that if you can’t get through the contest, you don’t play the next week,” Ralph told Fox Footy from the SCG.
“I think Hawthorn will be much more concerned about a long-term injury for him. The mechanism as he was tackled there by Brodie Grundy, that does lend itself to a syndesmosis.
“Hawthorn tells me they’re not quite sure of the extent of it so far, but look, he was subbed out very quickly — only 10 minutes after the issue — and so clearly, for next week, you’d think he’d be out of the realms of possibility (to play).”
What does it mean for Hawthorn’s midfield? “(It’s) more likely Josh Ward comes in against Essendon there, but (he’ll have) scans, and let’s hope that it’s not a long-term injury in a contract year.”
