Brisbane Lions will face the rest of the home and away season and finals without one of their key players.
Lions backman Noah Answerth was injured and subbed off during their 37-point win against Carlton on Thursday night.
Answerth injured his Achilles during the second quarter and was on crutches and in a moon boot by the end of the game.
The 25-year-old has played 88 games for the Lions and was a part of their premiership team last year and will be a big loss for the team.
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Brisbane coach Chris Fagan spoke in his post-match press conference after winning against Carlton and lamented that a ruptured Achilles usually means a long recovery time.
“I’m no medical expert, but I think they’re usually around about a nine-month sort of recovery from surgery, which is such a pity,” Fagan said.
“He was playing very well - terrific game, I thought. He’s one of the more popular members of our team, he’s the ultimate team player, and we’re all very, very disappointed for him.”
Fagan added that the team will get around Answerth and make sure he is in good spirits during his recovery.
“He was a really important part of our premiership team last year, and he’s just one of those blokes that will do anything for you,” he added.
“So we’ll all be a bit flat about that. We’ll have to move on, of course, because that’s footy – these things happen. But Noah’s just one of those blokes that’s a little bit unlucky with injury.”
The Lions are sitting in second place with six games left in the home and away season as they look to win back-to-back premierships.
They will face the Western Bulldogs, who are also in finals contention at the GABBA next Friday night.