Western Australian broadcaster Peter Vlahos has expressed his perception that AFL celebrity Nic Naitanui has reached the tip of his enjoying profession.
Naitanui, 33, has been absent from the sport this 12 months as a result of ongoing Achilles soreness, an harm that has repeatedly delayed his return.
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The Eagles introduced on Tuesday that Naitanui would seek the advice of with a specialist earlier than deciding on the subsequent plan of action for managing his ongoing Achilles harm.
Notably, there was no point out of his anticipated comeback date. In late April, the membership had hoped for Naitanui‘s return shortly after their bye week, but last week, the time frame was revised to 6-7 weeks away.
Vlahos, however, suggested that the three-time All-Australian player seemed at peace with the possibility of not playing again.
Speaking on SEN WA‘s The Run Home, Vlahos shared his observations.
“I don’t assume Nic Naitanui will play once more, I’ll say that,” he stated.
“I saw him just before the game on the weekend, he was there with his young boy and partner and he just looked so content for me.
“I said, ‘how you going Nic’? He said he’s going okay, but it radiated to me that he’s not in a rush to get back and I think he’s almost resigned to the fact that football now is very unlikely for him.”
Having missed a lot of the earlier 12 months as a result of two knee accidents and present process minor surgical procedure on the finish of the season, Naitanui is at present underneath contract till the next 12 months and has beforehand acquired the membership‘s best and fairest award twice.
As the West Coast Eagles grapple with numerous injuries, Vlahos proposed that Bailey Williams, who has been consistently playing in the ruck position this year, is the likely solution.
“(West Coast should say) let‘s put our energy into Bailey Williams, let’s look to the draft and see what we are able to develop to help him, let’s put aside Nic Naitanui and his potential return to the workforce as a result of it might not occur now,” Vlahos added.
Having performed 213 video games for the membership since being drafted in 2008, Naitanui has not given any indications of retirement this 12 months.
But Eagles coach Adam Simpson is adamant the 33-year-old, three-time All-Australian might make a “full recovery” and hasn’t performed his final sport within the AFL.
Simpson confirmed on Wednesday the twin finest and fairest winner had been dealt a contemporary blow after failing to play a sport this season following Achilles soreness which troubled him over the pre-season.
Alarm bells have been raised for West Coast followers on Tuesday when Naitanui’s return timeline was adjusted from six to seven weeks to “TBC” on the membership’s harm listing, with Simpson later confirming the three-time All-Australian would once more be sidelined indefinitely.
“He was tracking okay, stagnated a little bit and we had a follow-up scan recently and it looks like he’s going to need surgery, so it’s time to pull the pin on the season,” Simpson stated.
Originally printed as Fears Nic Naitanui has performed his final sport after harm nightmare
Source: www.dailytelegraph.com.au
