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Lions confident Neale knock not serious

3 minute read

Brisbane are confident a shoulder knock which forced Lachie Neale to finish the AFL club's training early on Tuesday is not a serious concern.

LACHIE NEALE.
LACHIE NEALE. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Brisbane are confident star Lachie Neale will be fit to play Saturday's AFL derby against Gold Coast despite the Brownlow Medallist failing to complete training.

Neale hurt his right shoulder after landing on the Gabba turf on Tuesday before walking off to the rooms.

It's the same joint Neale partially dislocated in the first quarter of Brisbane's win over Geelong on June 24.

The midfielder played out that match despite leaving the field in some distress.

Lions high performance manager Damien Austin quickly played down any fears Neale had suffered another serious injury.

"He fell down on his shoulder and obviously jars his back a little bit but he's fine," Austin said.

"He's pulled up sore, just gives him a bit of a stinger and we expect him play on the weekend."

Neale has endured a tough season with multiple injury setbacks.

He battled a back issue in the early rounds of the season before missing five weeks after undergoing surgery on an ankle syndesmosis.

Neale was a late scratching for the Lions trip to Adelaide earlier this month with a calf niggle before returning to play in the back-to-back losses to St Kilda and Richmond.

"He has gone through a few solid injuries this year but I thought he was back close to his best on the weekend," teammate Lincoln McCarthy said.

"I think that should set up the back end of his year pretty well.

"He's a very resilient footballer, but he's a resilient bloke as well so we know he's going to bounce back."

McCarthy is no stranger to injury woes of his own after making just 29 appearances in seven seasons at Geelong before his move to Lions at the end of 2018.

Since his move to Queensland however McCarthy has been almost ever-present for the Lions and announced on Tuesday he'll be extending his stay for three more seasons.

"Mentally I was starting to struggle ... when things aren't working, you've probably got to change something," he said.

"I was lucky to be given an opportunity for change and really enjoying it.

"It's been really enjoyable to be part of a club that's shot up the ladder from where they were in 2017-2018 to obviously now, we're pushing to be up the top end.

"That's been really fun and it's easy to come to work today with a group of really young, energetic blokes."

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