JUST a week after his long-awaited AFL return, unlucky Carlton defender Caleb Marchbank is expected to be sidelined for another two months after suffering yet another knee injury.
Marchbank played his first senior game in nearly three years last Friday night, but saw a specialist on Monday after discovering a complaint in his knee. Scans ultimately confirmed a lateral meniscus tear that would require surgery.
He is now expected to miss around six-to-eight weeks in what is yet another cruel blow for the popular Blues interceptor, who finally made his AFL comeback against the Bombers last week after 1069 days on the sidelines.
"Caleb is understandably really disappointed, as we are as a footy club, given how hard we all know Caleb has worked to get himself back and ready to play at the elite level," the club's footy boss Brad Lloyd said on Tuesday.
"Caleb has had more than his fair share of bad luck, which makes this news tough to hear. But as we all saw on Friday night he is more than capable of performing at the level and all we can do is support him through this period of his recovery, we have no doubt the Carlton faithful will do the same."
Marchbank finished with eight disposals and four marks in a tidy display against Essendon, having first been sidelined in July 2019 after suffering a fractured vertebrae in his neck.
He then suffered bone bruising in his knee that forced him to miss the entire 2020 campaign, before rupturing his ACL during his comeback through the VFL to miss the whole of the 2021 season.
His return had initially aided a heavily depleted Carlton backline group that is also without Jacob Weitering (shoulder), Oscar McDonald (back), Mitch McGovern (hamstring) and Luke Parks (foot) to long-term injuries.
The Blues will also be without gun midfielder Adam Cerra for the next fortnight after scans confirmed a low-grade hamstring injury, but veteran Ed Curnow is closing on a return from a long-term calf problem.