COLLINGWOOD match-winner Jordan De Goey has suffered a mid-foot sprain in his left foot, but a timeline for his return to training remains unclear.
During match simulation at Olympic Park on Friday morning, the star forward leapt for an aerial ball but landed awkwardly and immediately clutched at his left ankle and writhed in pain.
De Goey remained on the deck for about a minute as he was attended to by trainers, who assisted him to his feet and aided him as he limped from the field.
Jordan De Goey went down awkwardly in a marking contest and injured his lower left leg. Was helped from the field by trainers. pic.twitter.com/znagiQU52w
— Ben Guthrie (@BenGuthrie_) February 14, 2019
There were initial fears that the gun forward had sustained a serious injury that would delay his start to the season but scans later revealed he had not suffered damage to his ankle joint or ligaments.
For the next week the 22-year-old will wear a moon boot and avoid weight-bearing activities.
"After that, we should be able to determine how and when Jordy returns to the program," Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh said.
"He has escaped serious damage to the joint, which is the first thing. We'll let it settle and make the appropriate calls, in terms of rehab and a timeline, once he is back on the foot."
Jordan De Goey has gone down with a sore left ankle. Club to assess it. Story soon on @AFLcomau @CollingwoodFC pic.twitter.com/dCl5uYaZNK
— Ben Collins (@bencollocollins) February 14, 2019
De Goey had been regaining fitness and had just returned to the main group after suffering a hamstring setback before Christmas.
It's the third successive pre-season De Goey's preparation has been interrupted, given he received club-imposed suspensions in each of the past two seasons for off-field misdemeanours. Last year he was also ruled out of the opening three rounds with a hamstring problem.
De Goey was the club's leading goalkicker last year with 48 goals in 21 games to spearhead the Magpies to a Grand Final berth. He tallied 12 goals in four finals.
In better news, high-profile recruit Dayne Beams passed his first major test, emerging unscathed after participating in the bulk of the two-hour match simulation session.
Beams, who returned to training on Wednesday after spending a week away from the club with illness, combined well with black team teammates in skipper Scott Pendlebury, Adam Treloar and Brayden Sier.
Injury-plagued small forward Jamie Elliott continues to build momentum for a return to AFL level and tested his hamstrings with a long set-shot goal from outside the arc.
Father-son draftee Will Kelly also joined in on matchplay for the first time after post-season ankle injury.