'Complicated' injury delays Hawks star's return
A complicated neck injury has placed a cloud over Hawthorn midfielder Conor Nash’s season, with the club unsure if he will be fit to return this year.
Nash has not taken the field since round 11 after he alerted team medics of a disc-related problem in his neck that was affecting his strength in one of his arms.
Conor Nash has 130 caps for Hawthorn. Jonathan DiMaggio
The club has been working with team medics and physios to determine a recovery timeline for the 27-year-old. He is not expected to play for at least the next month.
But Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell told reporters on Thursday that he expects Nash’s return could be further away than expected.
“It’s pretty complicated ... it’s quite unusual, so we’ve had to go to some experts – he went to Sydney through the week and got some further treatment,” he said.
“Now, he definitely won’t play for a month ... but we have no timeline, so realistically he could miss the rest of this season. He’s very frustrated.”
Mitchell reiterated that Nash would recover from his injury, it’s just a matter of when.
“The worst-case scenario is he misses the rest of the season,” Mitchell added.
To add to the injury woes in Hawthorn, Mitchell confirmed that Nick Watson would not be available to face Carlton on Saturday due to a minor hamstring injury.
Watson did show promising signs at training that he could be fit for the match, running at around 88 per cent of his top speed, but Mitchell did not feel that it was worth risking sending the 21-year-old in too early.
Defender Josh Battle is also on the sidelines against Carlton as he continues to recover from having his appendix removed last week.
Hawthorn will face Carlton on Saturday evening at the MCG.
