AFL 2024: Carlton star Jacob Weitering initially feared achilles injury

Carlton defender Jacob Weitering initially feared he had torn his achilles in the pre-season training incident that has sidelined for the last two months.

The star fullback said he was hoping to return for the round 3 clash against North Melbourne in a “best case” scenario as the bye the week before strengthened his chances of returning.

Weitering said he physically “wasn’t feeling the best” earlier in the January training session before he suffered a high grade calf strain, but while frustrated, he was relieved he had not done more serious damage to his lower leg.

“It’s one of those things, you’re pushing yourself to the limit in pre-season and it was the week back after Christmas,” Weitering told SEN.

“I was getting back into it on the Friday and wasn’t feeling the best going later into the session and kept pushing and pushing it. It was a pretty typical way of doing a calf tendon, overextending myself and the bigger body that I am the weight went all the way through.

“It could have been the achilles, but I guess in a positive sense it was the calf tendon. The timeline was always the timeline, that 10 to 12-week injury and I knew straight away it felt like a pop.

“Initially, I did think it was my achilles, but scans showed otherwise and I went to work on rehab.”

The 26-year-old, who enjoyed career-best form in the second half of 2023 as the Blues surged into a preliminary final, said he could see the “light at the end of the tunnel” in his recovery and was looking forward to returning to main training.

“I’m looking forward to getting back into training with the boys and getting a kick around and build up to a capacity where I can come back and perform straight away,” he said.

“The best case is the North Melbourne game in round 3. We do have that bye in round 2, which is probably a really good thing for me in that it gives me that extra week to prepare and build more fitness, more capacity in the calf and hopefully allow me to perform pretty quickly.

“Round 3 is definitely best case if all things go well, but it is on track for that, so that’s my focus.”

Carlton confirmed on Tuesday that star on-baller Sam Walsh would be unavailable for the Blues’ Opening Round clash against Brisbane and would not return until some time after the club’s second round bye, while Jesse Motlop (toe), Jack Martin (knee) and Caleb Marchbank (illness) would also miss the season opener.

It comes as the Blues also miss Gold Coast recruit Elijah Hollands due to his two-match suspension after admitting to possessing cocaine last year, but small forwards Matt Owies and Corey Durdin have been cleared to face the Lions.