INURY-RAVAGED Geelong forward Cory Gregson has escaped any further damage to a navicular bone stress fracture that kept him out of football for 18 months.
Gregson sent a shock through the Geelong camp on Sunday, failing to return to the field after half-time with an injury on the left foot that had previously undergone three surgeries.
Scans on Monday showed a midfoot sprain with no link to his previous setbacks.
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"Cory is in good spirits with a positive mindset, he will begin weight bearing on the foot over the coming days which is a great outcome," Geelong's General Manager of Football Simon Lloyd told the club's website.
Gregson had played every match since round one this season, his first game back since round 14, 2016.
Coach Chris Scott feared Gregson may have aggravated the same injury.
"Yes (it could be long-term), but I don’t want to be alarmist because I don’t know," Scott told Fox Footy on Monday.
"But when a player with that sort of history has a sore foot — and he just felt a sharp pain, so my understanding is that he was stood on — it is frightfully bad luck.
Gregson had previously spoken of the frustration after the long recovery period.
"I had to go through three surgeries to finally get my foot right. I spent ages in a moon boot. I saw guys come in and out of rehab," Gregson told News Corp.
"Josh Cowan and I had surgery on the same day, were set to do our programs together.
"And then I had a setback. Even though I was so happy to see Josh recover, it’s hard to watch someone go forward while you feel like you’re drifting backwards.
Gregson is expected to miss at least Saturday's clash against Port Adelaide.