Geelong plays West Coast in round 22 on Saturday before a qualifying final the following weekend.
Rooke was a late withdrawal for the Cats’ VFL side last week, a match Geelong’s coaching staff had hoped would be a successful comeback for the man who has played just one senior match in 2010 as he has battled a chronic knee complaint.
However with Rooke still struggling for fitness - and the club’s VFL side failing to make the finals and their season now finished - that leaves the Cats’ No.33 all but done for the year.
“We haven’t given up, but we’re pretty pessimistic,” Cats’ football manager Neil Balme told afl.com.au on Thursday.
The dual premiership forward has battled his degenerative knee condition since April. In July, he flew to the US where he received treatment from renowned knee specialist Bill Knowles.
That trip had Rooke, whose only AFL game this season was against Carlton in round five, optimistic of overcoming the knee tendinitis that has plagued his year. But he has not been able to take the final step and return to the field.
Balme was unsure what repercussions the setbacks meant for the Cat’s long-term future, or whether rest would fix his troublesome knee.
“There’s been no discussion on that at all,” Balme said. “We’ve only been focussing on trying to get him up for the next game, so that hasn’t been discussed at all.
“He’s not yet resting ... we’re still working on the short-term, which is to try to at least get him to be able to train enough to at least be considered for playing.
“But it’s looking less likely as time goes on.”
With the Cats’ VFL side finished for 2010, Balme said Geelong would do its best to ensure any players not in the selected 22 would be ready should they be called on during the finals.
“In the early period it’s not so difficult because it’s just a bit of a breather and they (the players) do a fair bit of work but the longer it goes, the harder it is to replicate the game situation,” he said.
“But we’ll have a go at it and we’ll keep them right and they’ll still be in the chop-up and who knows what could happen?”
