Essendon's Zach Reid's horrid injury run has continued as the defender was subbed out at half-time of Saturday's game against Hawthorn.
After an uninterrupted pre-season, Reid was pulled from the remainder of the match with "hamstring awareness".
Zach Reid has been subbed out of the game with hamstring awareness.
Elijah Tsatas enters the game.
— Essendon FC (@essendonfc) March 16, 2024
Taken with Pick 10 in the 2020 National Draft, the 202cm defender has featured in only nine games (including Round 1, 2024), after enduring a string of hamstring issues.
After undergoing hamstring surgery in July last year, Reid and the Bombers thought that his troubles would be put in the rear-view mirror and his pre-season suggested that as well.
Speaking after the Bombers' four-goal win over the Hawks, coach Brad Scott said the club was yet to learn the extent of Reid's latest setback but remain confident he avoided significant damage.
"We don't know (the full extent of the injury) yet. What we do know is that he came off with a tight hamstring," Scott said.
"[Medical staff] couldn't rule him out in the lead-up (to the main break), we had probably six or seven minutes until half-time. They couldn't rule him out in that time.
"That tells me it's a tight hamstring. Is it a torn hamstring? No. There may be some damage, but if there is it's minor.
"Reidy's injury history is pretty well documented. We just wanted to take it out of their hands and take the cautious approach and sub him.
"Hopefully he's okay."
The 21-year-old was managing his workloads throughout the summer but admitted that he hadn't felt better on the eve of his fourth season at Tullamarine.
โI'm feeling really good at the moment. I'm so much fresher heading through this pre-season than the past few I've experienced,โ Reid said in January.
โI feel a lot stronger functionally around my hips, which had been a massive focus over my off-season, more so than just getting really big or heavy. I feel strong and I've loved moving into more consistent training again.โ
Scott and Essendon fans were hoping that Reid would be able to partner up with prized recruit Ben McKay in the backline, taking the two key forwards of the opposition.
