FORMER Tatyoon footballer and now Richmond player, David Astbury, is set to undergo surgery on his thumb.
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The defender was forced from the field in Richmond’s NAB Challenge clash against Fremantle at Mandurah last Friday. He suffered ligament damage in the thumb that required surgery.
Astbury, who has had numerous injury setbacks since being drafted to Richmond in 2009, had worked tirelessly over the pre-season to establish himself as a permanent member of the club’s senior line-up in 2016.
Although Astbury has been ruled out for the remainder of the Tigers’ NAB Challenge campaign, Tiger teammate Dylan Grimes was confident the key defender would be fit to play in the opening round clash with Carlton on March 24.
“I’m pretty close with Dave and my heart sank when I saw him clutching his thumb on the sidelines. To hear the news was a setback for him, personally, but also for the group because he’d really established himself as a rock of our defence with Alex Rance,” Grimes said.
“Alex and Dave are best mates at the club and they’ve worked so well together on-field, but also off-field this pre-season, to get each other in the best nick possible.
“It was really heartbreaking to see him go down, but it’s going to be relatively minor in the big scheme of things.
“I think he’ll be eligible to play for round one, which is a good result.”
- With richmondfc.com.au