Kildonan
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St Kilda waits on Ball scans
Samantha Lane
June 18, 2006
ST KILDA, already facing three weeks without champion midfielder Robert Harvey, will sweat on results of scans that will determine whether captain Luke Ball's osteitis pubis has recurred.
After the Saints' 10-goal battering by Adelaide on Friday night, Ball said he had an "ongoing battle" with the condition.
"I've had a little injury at the start of the year and I've probably got a bit of an ongoing battle with my osteitis pubis, but nothing very serious, to be honest," Ball told 3AW.
"I'm honestly not that bad. I've probably played 70 or 75 games now and I've probably been like this or pretty similar for all those games."
In his medical review yesterday, Ball, who has missed two matches this year with a groin-related problem, complained of soreness, which prompted the club to book him in for tests.
Saints physiotherapist Andrew Weller admitted the club may need to reassess how it manages Ball in the second half of the season.
"We'll look at the scans and if they suggest that there's anything more sinister, then there's probably other investigations that you would then undertake to establish whether there is osteitis pubis. You can do bone scans and a whole myriad of tests," Weller said.
"At this stage, we're just treating it as probably being a bit of aggravation. The first thing to do is an MRI and see what the results of that are … The way he's presented clinically, on me examining him today, would indicate that no, he wouldn't need rest. He's been in much worse situations than what he has been today and has played footy after that. So we're not overly concerned with him at this moment, but we'll do the scans and then make an assessment …
"He hasn't made a big thing out of it today, we may find that there's just a bit of scar tissue from his original injury. But he's been training fully, and usually when guys have osteitis pubis, as Matthew Ferguson does … they get withdrawn from training and don't play and get rest. Certainly, Luke hasn't done that over the last six weeks, he's been playing every week and training fully over the last month."
Ball again seemed to be in significant discomfort in Friday night's match, stretching and grimacing at times. After the loss, he admitted to being hampered by osteitis pubis.
Weller said Ball's assessment was not a precise one. "His signs aren't what we would consider osteitis pubis at this stage," he said. "It's probably an off-the-cuff remark and people take it as he's flared up again, but I don't think that's the case at all. I think when he talks about his current injury, he just puts that into that same group of conditions that affect him around that groin area."
Weller said there was no danger of Ball putting himself at further risk by continuing to play. "Osteitis pubis and those sort of things are very much a self-limiting condition in that you're going to get to the stage where you just can't perform anyway. You become uncomfortable and your form drops off and you can't compete at the elite level."
Ball also had an MRI scan after round one, when he was diagnosed with a strained abdominal muscle and rested for two matches.
Further compounding St Kilda's post-match gloom was news that 34-year-old Harvey will be out for three weeks with a hamstring injury.
Scans confirmed the worst after Harvey was injured in a tackle during the second quarter. Harvey has not yet missed a match in what is widely anticipated to be the veteran midfielder's final season.
Key defender Max Hudghton was diagnosed with a corked knee following his clash with Mark Ricciuto.
Nick Riewoldt required treatment on a bruised foot and missed the recovery session, but is expected to be available for the next match.
Samantha Lane
June 18, 2006
ST KILDA, already facing three weeks without champion midfielder Robert Harvey, will sweat on results of scans that will determine whether captain Luke Ball's osteitis pubis has recurred.
After the Saints' 10-goal battering by Adelaide on Friday night, Ball said he had an "ongoing battle" with the condition.
"I've had a little injury at the start of the year and I've probably got a bit of an ongoing battle with my osteitis pubis, but nothing very serious, to be honest," Ball told 3AW.
"I'm honestly not that bad. I've probably played 70 or 75 games now and I've probably been like this or pretty similar for all those games."
In his medical review yesterday, Ball, who has missed two matches this year with a groin-related problem, complained of soreness, which prompted the club to book him in for tests.
Saints physiotherapist Andrew Weller admitted the club may need to reassess how it manages Ball in the second half of the season.
"We'll look at the scans and if they suggest that there's anything more sinister, then there's probably other investigations that you would then undertake to establish whether there is osteitis pubis. You can do bone scans and a whole myriad of tests," Weller said.
"At this stage, we're just treating it as probably being a bit of aggravation. The first thing to do is an MRI and see what the results of that are … The way he's presented clinically, on me examining him today, would indicate that no, he wouldn't need rest. He's been in much worse situations than what he has been today and has played footy after that. So we're not overly concerned with him at this moment, but we'll do the scans and then make an assessment …
"He hasn't made a big thing out of it today, we may find that there's just a bit of scar tissue from his original injury. But he's been training fully, and usually when guys have osteitis pubis, as Matthew Ferguson does … they get withdrawn from training and don't play and get rest. Certainly, Luke hasn't done that over the last six weeks, he's been playing every week and training fully over the last month."
Ball again seemed to be in significant discomfort in Friday night's match, stretching and grimacing at times. After the loss, he admitted to being hampered by osteitis pubis.
Weller said Ball's assessment was not a precise one. "His signs aren't what we would consider osteitis pubis at this stage," he said. "It's probably an off-the-cuff remark and people take it as he's flared up again, but I don't think that's the case at all. I think when he talks about his current injury, he just puts that into that same group of conditions that affect him around that groin area."
Weller said there was no danger of Ball putting himself at further risk by continuing to play. "Osteitis pubis and those sort of things are very much a self-limiting condition in that you're going to get to the stage where you just can't perform anyway. You become uncomfortable and your form drops off and you can't compete at the elite level."
Ball also had an MRI scan after round one, when he was diagnosed with a strained abdominal muscle and rested for two matches.
Further compounding St Kilda's post-match gloom was news that 34-year-old Harvey will be out for three weeks with a hamstring injury.
Scans confirmed the worst after Harvey was injured in a tackle during the second quarter. Harvey has not yet missed a match in what is widely anticipated to be the veteran midfielder's final season.
Key defender Max Hudghton was diagnosed with a corked knee following his clash with Mark Ricciuto.
Nick Riewoldt required treatment on a bruised foot and missed the recovery session, but is expected to be available for the next match.
