The Sydney Swans have issued an apology to Isaac Quaynor and the AFL after the Collingwood midfielder suffered a nasty leg gash due to Swans debutant Sam Wicks' non-compliant metal-studded boots.
Quaynor was stretched off the Gabba after tackling Wicks in the final term of his side's nine-point win over the Swans on Thursday night.
Whilst the incident looked innocuous in the beginning, it was later revealed that the boots of Wicks had sliced the 20-year-old's shin open, leaving a nasty gash.
These boots contained a hybrid soleplate which includes plastic and aluminium stops, which is illegal under AFL Regulation 4.6 (Other Apparel), which states that 'Metal stops on boots are not permitted to be worn during a match.'
The Swans have issued a statement on Friday, apologising to Quaynor and the club whilst confirming that they will ensure that every player complies with the rules.
"The Sydney Swans have been in contact with the AFL following an incident in last night’s game that resulted in an injury to Magpie Isaac Quaynor," they said in a statement.
"The injury is believed to have resulted from a freak accident that involved contact with the boots of Sydney Swans debutant Sam Wicks. It remains unclear which part of the boot made contact with Quaynor’s leg.
"The Swans can confirm that the boots Wicks was wearing were standard issue screw-in boots, that have a hybrid soleplate which includes plastic and aluminium stops.
"These boots are understood to be widely worn by players across the competition. Following discussions with the AFL, it has become clear that these boots are not compliant with AFL regulations.
"The Sydney Swans will take steps to rectify this immediately to ensure that all boots are compliant going forward. The club has been in contact with Collingwood to express its regret for the incident and concern for Isaac, whom we wish a speedy recovery."
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The severity of metal studs was reaffirmed by AFL General Manager Football Operations Steve Hocking, who called on the clubs to continue enforcing the ruling to ensure that injuries like this don't happen again.
“The health and safety of everyone in our game, both on and off the field, is always our highest priority,” Mr Hocking said in a statement.
“Football boots with exposed metal studs have the potential to cause injuries and have no place across any level of our game.
“There are players in the competition who have been wearing boots direct from manufacturers that feature screw-in studs that have a hybrid soleplate, which includes both plastic and aluminium stops, and these are not compliant with AFL Regulations.
“It is the responsibility of clubs and players to work with manufacturers to ensure football boots worn by all players are compliant with AFL Regulations and ensure a duty of care to themselves, their teammates and opposition players.
“Where we can make our game safer for everyone involved, we will.”
Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley confirmed that Quaynor will likely miss the next couple of weeks depending on how the wound heals.
"His studs sort of raked across his shin and … the kid could have had metal studs in as well, so that was his bad luck, tackling the only kid who (potentially) had that," Buckley said.
"But that will be a couple of weeks (out). It'll depend on how you can clean the wound and heal that up."