Star goalkicker Josh Bruce is shattered he won’t be featuring in September, but confident the Western Bulldogs can find a way forward in his absence.
The 29-year-old has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering an ACL injury in Sunday’s loss to Essendon.
In the final seconds of the game – his 150th at AFL level – Bruce felt his knee pop while laying a tackle.
Scans today have confirmed the worst-case scenario that he will require an ACL reconstruction.
“I’m obviously pretty devastated,” Bruce told media at scans on Monday.
“The timing of it is pretty tough to take, but it’s just one of those things I guess – that’s footy.
“I went to tackle… and I twisted around and then as the left foot planted, I just felt it pop. It was pretty painful for a while and then it came good, so when it came good that’s kind of when I knew it was going to be an ACL.
“Hopefully the boys can go deep into September and it’s rehab from here (for me).”
Bruce has been extremely influential in his second season as a Bulldog.
He sits equal-second in the Coleman Medal race with 48 majors and had played all 20 games, forming a dynamic partnership with fellow key forward Aaron Naughton and in recent weeks a three-pronged tall forward set-up with the addition of Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
Bruce has full confidence in his teammates to make some adjustments and rise to the challenge.
“We’ve got a great coaching staff, so they’ll be able to reshuffle it a little bit,” he said.
“It might be a little bit of a different make-up with key position players, but I’ve got full faith in the guys we’ve got there.
“Naughty’s a match-winner and Jamarra’s starting out, so I look forward to seeing those guys go well.”
