Schoey facing long layoff
HAWTHORN defender Ryan Schoenmakers will have scans on his knee after suffering an injury in the second term of Saturday's win over Fremantle.
It is likely the defender has torn his ACL in Hawthorn's 42 point win over Fremantle.
Schoenmakers fell to the ground clutching his knee as he turned to change direction in the second term. He was helped from the field by Hawthorn trainers and carried into the rooms before being subbed out of the game.
He re-emerged late in the second term, but only to sit on the bench with his right knee heavily iced with crutches by his side.
Coach Alastair Clarkson says the Club is hoping for the best for the 22 year old but admits, the outlook is bleak.
"He'll get scanned tomorrow but whenever a player goes down with an injury where he lands awkwardly like that and it's a knee, it's probably unlikely it'll be good bust we've just got to hope for the best," he said in his post-match press conference.
"Usually the docs aren't too inaccurate with these calls and we're not overly confident that he'll be playing for the rest of the year."
"They think he's got some damage there that will keep him out for a long period of time."
It's a cruel blow for the promising defender who has started the season in great form.
Such has been Schoenmakers's form that star full back Brian Lake has been unable to force his way into the side.
But Coach Alastair Clarkson says, "that's football".
"That's footy, you've just got to roll with the punches on these sorts of things, it's a tough, demanding game."
"There's a glimmer of hope that it'll be okay but it's more than likely he'll miss some footy."
If scans reveal the worst for Schoenmakers, it will be the third ACL injury sustained by the Hawks in 2013. Defender Matt Suckling the most recent victim, who also tore his anterior cruciate ligament at Aurora Stadium in the NAB Cup.
Youngster Alex Woodward is also recovering from a knee reconstruction.