THE MANAGER of Clayton Oliver has opened up on the details of the "painful" infection suffered by the Melbourne star, which has forced the Brownlow Medal fancy to miss four consecutive matches.
Oliver was again absent as the Demons fell to Geelong on Thursday night, having been treated in hospital across five days after a blister on his foot became infected and required antibiotics.
Having missed the side's defeat to Fremantle after suffering a slight hamstring strain the week before, Oliver then suffered the infection and has now been sidelined for over a month as a result of the dual setbacks.
Speaking on AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable earlier this week, Oliver's agent Nick Gieschen from Connors Sports Management discussed visiting the midfielder in hospital and realising the severity of his infection.
"I saw him not last week, the week before," Gieschen told Gettable.
"He was in a pretty bad way. When he said that he had an infection, I didn't realise how bad it was. I went to see him in hospital and he was laying on the bed and his foot was up, all bandaged. From what he's said, it was quite painful. Obviously, it's still causing him some issues even now.
"He's shattered. He's a competitor, he loves playing and he was devastated to miss the Carlton game and then the Collingwood game. Hopefully, he can get back (next week) and finish off the year strong."
