Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Cara Pelchen for essendonfc.com.au
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The 23-year-old will have surgery on Monday to repair an on-going problem that has troubled him since preseason.

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The surgery will leave Winderlich bed-ridden for the next month but team manager, David Calthorpe, says the operation is the right move for his long-term playing career.

"We are disappointed for him because he was starting to find some really good form, not only through the midfield, but was a damaging player for us when he went up forward in the Adelaide game," Calthorpe said.

"He had shown signs that he was going to finish off the season strong and it would have been an added bonus for us to have him in the side."

The decision to rest the midfielder - who has played 56 games for the club - came after Winderlich experienced severe pain following Essendon’s Round 11 match against Hawthorn.

"I knew I wasn’t good when I woke up the morning after the Hawthorn game and couldn’t really feel the back of my left leg," Winderlich said.

"I knew then that it was something major but having surgery is not something I am looking forward to."

Winderlich’s diagnosis involved visits to a back physician and neurosurgeon before MRI scans revealed he had a prolapsed disc.

Medical staff decided on surgery to eliminate the problem for good so he could resume preseason training in early November with the rest of the team.

Although apprehensive about the thought of delicate surgery, Winderlich is looking forward to an uninterrupted preseason as a result of the operation.

"I had a split disc this preseason and missed 10 weeks of training straight after Christmas which involved missing a heap of conditioning work that meant I was always behind the eight ball coming into this year," he said.

"I had only played about three quarters in a VFL practice match before I came into the side which resulted in a pretty slow start to the season.

"Trying to play football without a proper preseason is hard these days with the amount of running you have to do. At least after the operation I will be fully conditioned and ready to go by the time preseason starts this year which is the key.

"I don’t want to keep waiting for it to heal itself."

Winderlich is expected to be in hospital for up to four days. Following surgery, he will be unable to drive a car for a month and will only be allowed out of bed for four short walks a day. For the first two weeks, he will be unable to bend over at all.

In other injury news, Essendon's No.2 overall draft pick in 2006, Scott Gumbleton, is recovering well from surgery on a broken collarbone he sustained while playing for Bendigo.

"He has had scans this week and everything is tracking along as expected," Calthorpe said.

"The surgery went really well and he should be back running in two to three weeks.

"The club has made no decision as to whether we push him back to play footy this year because realistically he still has at least six weeks before he can play again. It is unlikely we will risk him for just one or two VFL games."

Despite having suffered three major injury setbacks this season, Calthorpe said Gumbleton has maintained a positive state of mind.

"He has been pretty good considering," Calthorpe said.

"His mum has been down and spent some time with him. His attitude and demeanor around the footy club has been positive considering it's his third setback this year and he said during the week that the support that he is getting from his teammates and the staff here at the footy club has really helped him get back on track."

Jason Johnson, who is recovering from a calf injury, has suffered a minor setback during training and is now likely to resume in a month.

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