Wellingham fell to the MCG turf clutching his right ankle late in the third term and was assisted from the ground shortly after, with the 22-year-old failing to return to the field.
Coach Mick Malthouse said despite doctors being yet to provide an in-depth diagnosis, early reports suggested the youngster may have escaped serious damage.
“He’s got an ankle strain issue; he should be right,” Malthouse said after his team’s 62-point hammering of the Western Bulldogs.
“That’s what I’ve been told and I don’t normally get too much information after a game because I think it’s generally inaccurate because the doctors don’t know.
“But they’re quite comfortable and I know when he came off we were wanting to know and they were quite comfortable that that’s what had taken place.
“I can’t say any more. I’m not a soothsayer ... [but] I’m pretty comfortable and I think Sharrod’s pretty comfortable he’ll be okay.”
> Watch Nathan Brown speak to CTV in the rooms after the winThe scare to Wellingham, who was on crutches in the Magpie rooms after the match, was the only sour point of an otherwise blissful first final for Collingwood as they cantered past the Bulldogs.
The authoritative performance may make it difficult for others such as injured veteran Simon Prestigiacomo to force their way into the Magpies line-up.
“We don’t guarantee anyone [a place],” Malthouse said.
“That 22’s got no guarantee. Of course a lot of players have. Now when I say that, what I’m talking about is we will weigh up our opponents and we will look at our selection table and we take everyone off, and we look at the opposition.
“Simon is a very valuable player to us, so if he’s available it’s something we’ll have to seriously consider.”
> Watch the team sing the song after the winThe Pies will face the winner of next Friday night’s Geelong-Fremantle clash in their preliminary final, but Malthouse wasn’t getting too excited at the thought his men were just one win away from a grand final.
“One game can be like getting six instead of a seven in Tattslotto,” he said.
“We’ve got an opponent in two weeks who will be no doubt very, very worthy.
“That’s the bonus of finishing top, that’s the bonus of winning your first final - going into your next game and you know that you’ve got an opportunity to tune up areas that need tuning up, rest up a few tired bodies and have a good look at the opposition.
“The next game we play is a preliminary final. [It’s] sudden death.”
Poll Centre: Who did you think was BOG?
