Carlton have been dealt with a severe blow to their chances of upsetting Collingwood in their upcoming match with both Eddie Betts and Shaun Hampson being forced out of the side with injuries and illness.
Betts suffered a broken jaw in their opening match against Richmond last Thursday night. The small forward will consult with a surgeon today with the club expected to know how long the 167-game player will be out for.
Hampson will also miss the blockbuster on Sunday after suffering appendicitis. The forward/ruck had surgery on Saturday to remove his appendix, it’s not known if Hampson will miss more than a week.
“Eddie sustained the injury early in the game, so it was a great effort in his behalf to keep playing. But he won’t be playing this week and we’ll be guided by the doctor,” said Andrew McKay, Carlton’s General Manager of Football Operations.
“Shaun felt really terrible on Saturday afternoon, saw the doctor and was diagnosed with appendicitis. He went straight into hospital and had his appendix removed.
“Obviously we’ll have to replace a ‘tall’ and a ‘small’ in our forward line, so there are a couple of spots up for grabs.”
Sam Rowe is likely to make his debut for Carlton in the absence of Hampson. Rowe missed the entire 2013 season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer early last year. After undergoing chemotherapy last year, the 25-year-old had a full pre-season of training with the Blues and was one of their standouts in the clubs opening NAB Cup match.
