After a delayed start to his first season in a hooped guernsey due to a hamstring strain, prized Cats recruit Jeremy Cameron is set for another stint on the sidelines after aggravating the same injury.
The former Giant was subbed out of Friday night's contest at GMHBA Stadium late in the second-quarter, but not before he had a chance to slot three majors.
Jeremy Cameron has been subbed off.
Max Holmes comes on as the medical sub for Geelong. #AFLCatsDons pic.twitter.com/wqBmwycCxt
— AFL (@AFL) July 2, 2021
Although his side would go on to rectify their slow start and see off a gritty Essendon side by 41-points, Cats coach Chris Scott revealed that the 28-year-old sharpshooter had felt tightness in his right hamstring prior to the first bounce.
โHe had what was reported to us as a bit of tightness pre-game, but declared himself fine,โ Scott stated at half-time on Fox Footy.
โHe did get a bit of a cork in about the same spot and just felt that it was getting tighter. The feedback Iโve got is theyโre not worried about damage, but not good enough to keep going.โ
However, once the final siren had sounded, Scott was forced to defend his medical staff's decision to allow Cameron to play on after his reported qualms.
โIffyโs probably a good description of how it was pre-game,โ Scott stated.
โI think more than people realise, there are really hard decisions that need to be made by the medical staff and he had a bit of tightness there pre-game but they were confident the right decision was made for him to play.
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โIโd like to defend our medical staff as much as possible because theyโve done a fantastic job for us this year and this was one of those really challenging decisions.
โTheyโve got really difficult decisions to make, they donโt need to defer to a coach whoโs got no idea what heโs talking about.
โHe got a little bit of a cork up near his glute โฆ his tightness was right down low in the hamstring. The medical staff are confident that he hasnโt done a significant injury, but it was just not getting better.
โYouโre not looking at a significant injury. Heโs the best player of all time if heโs got a significant injury and was doing what heโs doing.โ
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After missing the first five-weeks of the 2021 season after straining his hamstring during training, Cameron's right leg is becoming a concern for those at Kardinia Park.
The 2019 Coleman medalist has more form in the area, after suffering a further complaint within the last six-months.
Respected sports and exercise physician Dr. Peter Larkins last night gave his diagnosis on Twitter.
Jeremy Cameron right hamstring recurrent soreness before match tonight - aggravated in Q1 contest - Q2 biceps spasm extended to knee- Physio made sensible call- likely to miss a few now
— Dr Peter Larkins (@doclarkins) July 2, 2021
Should this ambiguous "few" that Larkins raises mean three, then the Dartmoor dead-eye can expect to miss the Hoops' clashes with Carlton, Fremantle and Richmond across the month of July.
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However, as Friday night's victory in front of their home crowd further consolidated the Cats' place in the eight, it could be expected that Geelong's medical staff and selection committee will be keen to take no risks with Cameron and have him fit and firing by the time September begins.
Despite his hampered start to his inaugural campaign with the Cats, Cameron had been in rare form until just before half-time last night, with the two-time All Australian averaging 2.8 goals per game from his 10 starts this season.
