Blossoming Roos forward Charlie Comben left the MCG early on Saturday night after appearing to break his leg in sickening circumstances.
Comben, 21, flew for a mark alongside Melbourne's Jake Lever during the opening term of the Roos' 90-point loss before landing awkwardly, causing shrieks of agony, smacks on the ground and Channel 7 cameras to pan out.
The setback is certain to incense the rising spearhead as Comben had finally earned a clear run of senior games - featuring in each of North's first seven outings for the season - as well as shaking off a series of previous leg complaints sustained prior to joining the club at the end of 2019.
The Gippsland Power product would fail to feature in his rookie season of 2020, and only added four appearances across the past two seasons, with Comben seriously injuring his left tibia and knee playing basketball in 2018.
Speaking to the Seven Networkย following the dispiriting defeat, North Melbourne's footy boss Todd Viney empathised with Comben's frustration.
โIt's really bad news for Charlie in particular, his family but the club as a whole,โ Viney said in the wash-up.
โHe'll have surgery in the next period of time, whether that's tonight (Saturday night) or tomorrow is unknown, but he'll require surgery be out for a period of time.
โOur hearts go out to him. It's a serious injury, he's had a lot of injuries over the first couple of years of his career and just when you thought he was starting to get a bit of momentum, he's hurt himself."
Roos coach and clear Comben fan Alastair Clarkson spoke briefly on the injury that he witnessed from his boundary side vantage point.
โIt is a blow to us because he's a young guy trying to make his way in the game,โ he said.
โIt was his seventh game on the trot and getting that continuity was going to be important for him.
โHe's shown in the games that he's played โฆ that he is a great prospect for us and we have just got to get his body right now and get him going later in the year if we can.โ
Since finding himself under Clarkson's tutelage, Comben has gone from strength to strength, slotting 12 scoring shots this season alone.
