Back Injury (General)(BKXX)

Timeline

1. 26 Mar

   Occurred

   Back injury (Round 3, 2026-03-26) requiring surgery — formally placed on Long-Term Injury List by Essendon on 2026-05-20 per zerohanger.com.au, ruling him out for the remainder of the 2026 season. Daniel McPherson (GM AFL): "given the delicacy around having surgery on his back". Earliest return R1 2027.

   15 fixtures missed
2. 1 Apr

   Progress update

   Late withdrawal from previous weekend; requires week-long assessment.

   Essendon FC
3. 3 Apr

   Fitness test

   Essendon FC
4. 14 May

   Reassessment

   ruling him out for the majority of the home-and-away season

   Return revised: 1 Oct → 1 Sept

   Essendon FC
5. 19 May

   Progress update

   data model alignment: fitness_test_date is a POSSIBLE-state attribute per INJURY_STATUS_LIFECYCLE.md — auto-transition retroactively applied. Surfaced 2026-05-20 when homepage Fitness Test box rendered 0 players despite 6 having fitness_test_date set.

6. 21 May

   Surgery / rehab

   Surgery confirmed + formal LTIL placement on 2026-05-20. POSSIBLE -> REHAB per INJURY_STATUS_LIFECYCLE.md (post-surgical, player unavailable, closes on first lineup). we want to give him the best opportunity to recover and contribute for us in the long-term, especially given the delicacy around having surgery on his back

   zerohanger.com
7. 21 May

   Reassessment

   LTIL placement = season-ending for 2026; earliest realistic return R1 2027. ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 season

   Return revised: 1 Sept → 15 Mar

   zerohanger.com