ETIHAD Stadium could be hit with a compensation claim from the Brisbane Lions after young forward Michael Close suffered a season-ending knee injury on the ground's artificial turf.
The Stadium released a statement on Tuesday afternoon saying it would cooperate fully with the AFL and the AFL Players’ Association to review the cause of the incident.
Close will undergo a full knee reconstruction after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during Sunday's loss to North Melbourne.
He suffered the injury when sliding towards an apparently uneven patch of artificial turf near the interchange gates. The area of artificial turf at the ground was extended ahead of the 2015 season.
Brown's Etihad fears after young Lion's ACL injury
It is understood a compensation claim would be explored by the Lions if an investigation concluded that the artificial turf contributed to Close's injury.
The incident, which has left the Lions thin for key position stocks, prompted football manager Dean Warren to contact the AFL.
"I spoke to (AFL football operations manager) Mark Evans to raise our concerns with how the synthetic surface butts up hard against the boundary line and behind the goals," Warren told AFL.com.au.
"At most venues there's a metre or two metres of turf over the boundary line before you get to the synthetic.
"At this point we're waiting for Mark and his team, who are working with Etihad and the AFLPA, to determine whether it did contribute to Michael's injury.
"Our main concern at the moment is getting Michael on the road to recovery."
The AFL said it would respond to a letter from the Lions shortly.
"The surface at Etihad Stadium was within our hardness and safety guidelines for artificial turf and was signed off before the season as fit to play," an AFL spokesperson said.
Etihad Stadium CEO Paul Sergeant said it was important for all parties to gather the facts about the ground's expanded synthetic turf before reaching conclusions.
"We will assist the AFL and the PA with background information and any testing that is required,” he said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
Sergeant highlighted that the turf had been approved by the AFL before being installed ahead of the new season.
The AFLPA has confirmed it would support Close if he sought compensation.
Adelaide premiership ruckman Shaun Rehn sued the AFL after suffering a knee injury when he landed on a rubber pad that sat in the middle of AFL grounds to assist umpires with centre bounces.
The pads were removed after Rehn's successful legal action.
