Carlton's Sam Walsh has once again been struck down by an injury that will keep the midfielder out medium term.
The Blues star picked up the issue at training as he battles once again to keep his body fit for the rigours of AFL football.
Walsh’s injury comes just two days out from their clash against the West Coast Eagles, whom the Blues play against on Sunday in Perth.
The Sporting News has all the latest details about Walsh's fitness problem.
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What is Sam Walsh’s injury?
Walsh’s injury is currently a hot spot on his foot, which, in simple terms, means there is inflammation within a bone on his foot.
This means that if it is left untreated, it can lead to a stress fracture and eventually a bone fracture.
Carlton is hoping that Walsh taking time off to recover, they can avoid his foot injury from becoming worse.
When will Sam Walsh return from injury?
Carlton’s general manager of football, Brad Lloyd, has said the injury happened at Friday’s main training session, with Walsh needing time to let his foot recover.
“Sam was unable to complete yesterday’s main training session after reporting soreness in his foot, with further examination confirming a hot spot in his foot,” Lloyd explained.
“Given he does not require surgery, Sam will aim to return to the side in just over a month.”
The Blues hope that Walsh can recover in 5-6 weeks to play in Round 19 or 20.
Sam Walsh injury history
After an interrupted pre-season with hamstring issues, Walsh had played every game in 2025 up until sustaining the recent foot injury.
However, Walsh has struggled with body over recent seasons, despite actually not missing that much football.
The 24-year-old failed to play Round 1 in 2022, 2023 and 2024 with back-related hamstring issues the main cause of his pre-season issues.
In both 2023 and 2024, he didn't play his first match of the season until Round 5.