Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Find your Sport Nation frequencyThe early diagnosis on trio of concerning Dons injuries
Lachlan Geleit • May 2nd, 2025 11:08 am
SEN newsbreaker Tom Morris has given an early update on the trio of injuries that Essendon suffered in their three-point win over North Melbourne on Thursday night.
The Dons lost all of Harrison Jones (dislocated ankle), Jordan Ridley (hamstring) and Jade Gresham (adductor) throughout the course of the match and Morris offered an indication of the severity of those injuries ahead of scans today.
“Jones dislocated his left ankle, that's the other ankle that he did in 2023. He was in the hospital post-game, there's no time frame at the moment but it clearly looks serious,” Morris told SEN Fireball.
“Jordan Ridley will get scans today. Again, it's his other hamstring, not the one he did in the pre-season. They're hoping it's a standard hammy, but they're not quite sure yet.
“Gresham looks like an adductor and probably on the lighter side, so probably more a week or two.
“But in good news at Essendon, (Nik) Cox and (Matt) Guelfi are back in the VFL today, (Jye) Caldwell is back next week, and (Darcy) Parish is two to three weeks away.
“But clearly the big one is Jones, who did a similar injury in 2023. It was pretty gruesome, wasn’t it?”
With Jones, Ridley and Gresham set to join the likes of Nick Bryan, Sam Draper, Jye Caldwell and Darcy Parish on the sidelines, Kane Cornes and David King discussed how concerned they are about the 4-3 Bombers from a health perspective.
Cornes: “How concerned are you now for the Bombers just with these injuries piling up?
“What are they going to do with poor old Goldy (Todd Goldstein)? It's just unfair to keep putting him out there, but there's nothing coming, there’s no reinforcements there.
“With Jones’ ankle dislocation, I would say that’s the majority of the year.
“Ridley is just a big story now with the soft tissue injuries that happen every year for him.
“On top of the other injuries they’ve got, it’s going to be a challenge.”
King: “Health is your best player. It always has been and always will be.
“When you look at players used across the course of a season, no team bats deeper than 30 (on the list).
“You can bring a couple in, and you can move some magnets and develop some players across the season. But if you're playing your full list, you're having a stinker of a season.”
Cornes: “It’s going to be a real challenge for the Bombers unfortunately, and no one likes to see that (those injuries).”
The Bombers next face Sydney at Marvel Stadium on Saturday, May 10.
