An MRI today revealed that young Essendon tall, Tom Bellchambers, suffered a bruised bone and minor ligament damage in his knee during the third quarter of yesterday's clash with Geelong.
The giant back-up ruckman limped from the ground late in the third quarter and the club originally feared he may have seriously damaged his meniscal cartilage.
Football operations manager, Paul Hamilton, said the 19-year-old would miss up to six weeks of football as the knee recovered.
""The MRI result is quite good news because Tom won't require an operation - he will rest his knee for the next few weeks and undergo rehabilitation,"" Hamilton said.
""We are very pleased that Tom hasn't done any serious catilage or ligament damage and he will be available for most of the second half of the season.""
Meanwhile, the Match Review Panel has assessed contact between Essendon’s Henry Slattery and the Geelong Cats’ Steve Johnson from the second quarter of Sunday’s game. The panel said that Slattery made contact with an open hand with negligible force. No further action was required.
Contact between the Geelong Cats’ Cameron Mooney and Essendon’s Angus Monfries from the third quarter of Sunday’s game was assessed. The panel said the impact was below that required to constitute a reportable offence. No further action was taken.
