PORT Adelaide's miserable start to 2022 has been compounded after power forward Charlie Dixon suffered another setback in his recovery from an ankle injury.
The 31-year-old was forced to undergo minor surgery this week to clean out some troublesome scar tissue and will not be able to commence training for another month, meaning he is unlikely to play until the second half of the season.
The three-time club leading goalkicker was expected to return to the field this month following earlier ankle surgery before reporting soreness on the inside of his ankle after an incident in training last week.
MEDICAL ROOM Check out the full injury list
Follow-up scans showed he developed some early bone bruising, likely due to some scar tissue build up, which was subsequently cleaned out on Wednesday.
Dixon tore ligaments in his left ankle after landing awkwardly on a teammate's foot during a marking contest at training in January.
The former Gold Coast star played all 24 matches in 2021 and booted 48 goals.
The Power, who have started the season 0-3 after coming off consecutive preliminary final appearances, are also without triple club champion Robbie Gray and All-Australian defender Aliir Aliir.
They have the daunting task of taking on reigning premier Melbourne tonight who are yet to lose a game in 2022.
- with AAP
