THE WESTERN Bulldogs are preparing themselves for the news gun midfielder Tom Liberatore has suffered a season-ending knee injury.
While the 22-year-old will have scans in the next few days to determine the damage to the left knee he injured against Richmond on Saturday, the Dogs have conceded he's likely torn his anterior cruciate ligament.
"He'll need a scan tomorrow but it doesn't look good at the moment," coach Luke Beveridge said after the Dogs' 22-point win.
"Without a scan you can't confirm anything.
"If there's a remote chance, we're hoping for it but it doesn't look good."
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Liberatore iced the knee after the first quarter incident but attended the post-match meeting with his leg wrapped in a compression bandage, aided by crutches.
The injury happened in the first quarter as the 2014 best and fairest winner chased a ball to the boundary.
He planted his left foot just as Tyrone Vickery tackled him, which saw the knee twist and buckle underneath him.
He left the field in great distress but was able to put some weight through it as he moved to the bench.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick, who was coaching from the bench and was right in front of the incident, signalled to stop play.
"It didn't look good but I'm no doctor," Hardwick said.
"It was unfortunate. It was one of those ones where I hope the young fella is OK because he's a bloody good player and you hate to see good players rubbed out this early.
"You see [Eric] McKenzie go down last night as well … you don't like seeing the stars of the game going out this early in the competition. Touch wood he's OK.”
Beveridge was yet to speak directly to Liberatore about the injury but said the young midfielder's teammates were supporting him, despite the unconfirmed diagnosis.
He also backed the ball winner to bounce back if the worst-case scenario was confirmed, and the club would face yet another challenge head on.
"If it is an ACL it's horrific but he's tough, he's resilient and there's no doubt he'll come back from it," Beveridge said.
"I think the boys and the club have faced some significant challenges.
"We're on a new path and footy clubs are very resilient places and special people work at them and we've got some great people here – everyone here has been so supportive of me.
"If it is the case, it will just be another challenge we need to deal with and another opportunity for someone else to come in and forge some more of their AFL career.
Tom Liberatore lays in the hands of a trainer after hurting himself on Saturday. Picture: AFL Media
The Bulldogs escaped from Saturday's match at Whitten Oval with the win despite not making the most of their opportunities and allowing the Tigers to exploit holes in their defence.
Tagger Liam Picken was trialled up forward in a role Beveridge said he would continue to fill.
Jack Macrae had a game-high 25 touches and five clearances, and Beveridge said Tom Boyd was "terrific" playing both up forward and in the ruck despite lacking a scoreboard impact.
He was also encouraged by the number of young midfielders who stood up.
"There was a lot of boys that went through there – at one stage we had Tom Boyd, Mitch Honeychurch, Josh Prudden and Lin Jong in the centre square and we were down at that point," he said.
"That was good. We were a bit jittery in the coaches box because it's just a different look.
"It's important that we're more versatile and we get some experience into these young fellas.
"I was so happy with the way they reacted at the end of the game when they were under a little bit of duress, they did well to hold their nerve."
Twitter: @AFL_JenPhelan
