RICHMOND has been without key defender David Astbury for at least a month after suffering cartilage damage to his knee in round four against St. Kilda.
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Astbury clumsily landed at Marvel Stadium last Saturday after a second-quarter marker competition and left the ground for treatment before forcing the game out.
The next day, however, scans showed that he had damaged the cartilage behind his kneecap.
The 29-year-old will have to undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair the injury, and Peter Burge, physical performance manager at Tigers, said he would miss five weeks.
“He had a little landing and bouncing problem, but we got him out of there and it could work for the rest of the game,” said Burge on the club’s website.
“He had some scans on Sunday and there is a small piece of articular cartilage that has come loose behind the patella and needs to be removed.
“So he’s going to have surgery today (Tuesday) and is likely to miss 4-5 weeks.”
In better news, utility Josh Caddy will be available for Sunday’s clash against Melbourne, despite suffering from what Burge calls “very low glute” against the Saints.
Burge also confirmed that superstar midfielder Dustin Martin had recovered well from his first game after recovering from rib pain and would face the demons.
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