Carlton star Charlie Curnow has suffered a setback in his rehabilitation from injury, fracturing his patella in a freak accident.
Curnow's was limited to just 11 games in 2019, with his season cut short after suffering medial ligament damage and bone bruising during the side's match against Fremantle in round 15.
The 22-year-old was then forced to undergo surgery after dislocating his knee cap while playing non-competitive basketball with teammates in October.
The key forward's bad luck with injuries has continued during his recovery from surgery, sustaining a fracture to his patella after accidentally slipping on tiles while walking upstairs.
We're thinking of you, Charlie. 💙#BoundByBlue
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) November 21, 2019
The setback is a new injury to the same knee that he had post-season surgery on, with Carlton head of football Brad Lloyd revealing that it will likely keep him out of their pre-season games, putting him in doubt for their opening round clash against Richmond.
“The recovery time for a fractured knee cap is typically 3-4 months," Lloyd told the club's website.
"This will delay his return to running until the New Year, which means it is unlikely he will be available for our pre-season games in late-February and early-March.
“Charlie is understandably very disappointed right now but our entire football club, and I’m sure our members included, will give Charlie all the support he needs to get through this frustrating period.
“He is a resilient character, and we have no doubt, knowing the competitor he is, he will be back to playing good football in the navy blue in 2020.”
Curnow will undergo surgery on Thursday.