Giants ruckman Braydon Preuss will require surgery to repair his dislocated shoulder, with the big man expected to miss four to five months.
The Giants released a statement on Wednesday evening confirming the unfortunate news.
“This is obviously hugely disappointing for Braydon who has come into our club and had an immediate impact on the training track," Giants general manager of football Jason McCartney told the club website.
“He’s had a huge pre-season and was tracking really well before his injury on Monday.
“Braydon will now attack his rehab with a view to returning to the field during the middle of the season.”
GWS coached Leon Cameron confirmed the 25-year old's setback on SEN radio on Wednesday morning but wasn't able to to determine the severity of it.
Could this mean veteran big man Shane Mumford gets called upon? Mumford was added to the Giants' rookie list over the off-season to serve as ruck depth, while Sam Jacobs hung up the boots after one season at the club.
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Speaking on SEN Breakfast, Cameron was full of praise of Preuss' pre-season before revealing his shoulder issue, stating that the ex-Kangaroo and Demon would consult a specialist today.
“The good news is he’s had a wonderful pre-season, an outstanding pre-season and he’s made a massive impact and we probably underestimated even when we took him, he’s 208cm, 112kg and has just gone about it in a wonderful way and the way you want your ruckmen to go about it,” Cameron told SEN Breakfast.
“He and Matthew Flynn have a really good ding-dong battle.
“Unfortunately, on Monday he’s just hurt his shoulder a little bit.
“So he’s seeing the specialist today and hopefully it’s not too bad, but we’re going to know more later this afternoon.
“Hopefully it’s not too bad and it’s only a couple of weeks, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
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Preuss was traded from the Demons to the Giants last trade period in exchange for Pick 31 to get more senior opportunities after playing backup to Max Gawn.
He was primed to take on the mantle as GWS' number one ruckman in 2021 following Jacobs' retirement and Mumford being in his twilight years.
Preuss has played 18 AFL games since making his debut in 2017, originally playing for the Kangaroos prior to his move to Melbourne at the end of 2018.