by Sojourner » Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:51 pm
Looks like young Gallman will be out for eight to ten weeks, still he is one determined young lad from the way that he goes about his footy, so I still think he is a strong chance to push for selection this year!
Greg Gallman to miss 10 weeks after breaking collarbone in Darwin
By Andrew Capel
February 09, 2009 ADELAIDE defender Greg Gallman - a contender to fill spots vacated by retired Nathan Bassett and delisted Kris Massie - will miss the start of the premiership season after X-rays confirmed he has broken a collarbone.
Gallman arrived home from Darwin in Sunday, three days ahead of his teammates, with his left arm in a sling after being crunched in the final quarter of Saturday's nine-goal trial-match defeat by the Indigenous All-Stars.
X-rays at a Darwin hospital on Saturday night revealed the fracture, ruling Gallman out for eight to 10 weeks.
Gallman, who flew back to Adelaide with club officials, will be assessed by a specialist today and may require surgery.
He is expected to miss the first month of the AFL premiership season.
The injury is a bitter blow to the hard-running, 20-year-old defender, who is yet to play an AFL game.
His setback comes just days after Crows defensive coach Ben Hart said that Gallman was one of the chief contenders to replace Bassett and Massie in the back half.
"Greg Gallman and Aaron Kite have stepped up this pre-season from last year," Hart said last week.
"They have been performing really well in the (defensive) roles we want from them, so we're hoping that with continual exposure to those areas they'll get better and better and be able to fill those positions for us."
Gallman, from North Adelaide, will now have his work cut out to force his way into the side.
Crows coach Neil Craig described Gallman's injury as "a real negative for him and a negative for us".
"We don't want broken collarbones and that sort of thing but as soon as you run out you put yourself at risk (but) a lot more positive stuff has come out of it (the match)."
Craig said the trial showed his side had "some work to do" ahead of its first NAB Cup clash against powerful Geelong on February 21.
"We take that and move forward ... I think our structures fell apart with their (All-Stars) pressure," Craig said.
"We're not totally ingrained yet with a lot of the stuff we've done in pre-season. That's a disappointment but you need to play in these sort of games to find that out."
Second-year midfielder Patrick Dangerfield suffered slight concussion after a collision with All-Stars opponent but Crows teammate Graham Johncock but he will not miss any matches.
Young forward Taylor Walker was a late withdrawal from the game because of quad soreness.
Most of the Crows squad will stay in Darwin until Wednesday to embark on a couple of fishing trips planned by All-Stars captain Andrew McLeod.
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