Three AFLW stars nursing knee injuries

Roger Vaughan |

AFLW stars Isabel Huntington, Bri Davey and Kate Lutkins are sweating on knee scans after a nightmare run of injuries in the opening round of the season.

Lutkins’ Brisbane teammate Dakota Davison also went down with an ankle injury and is another player potentially facing a lengthy spell out of the game.

GWS star Chloe Dalton also appeared to suffer a serious shoulder injury on Sunday against Gold Coast.

Huntington, the league’s 2020 Rising Star winner, hurt her right knee on Saturday night in the Western Bulldogs’ loss to Melbourne.

The key position player has had a shocking run of injuries, having undergone knee reconstructions on both knees as well as suffering a broken leg.

Huntington tried to double back after failing to take an overhead mark and her knee buckled as she changed direction.

“Obviously, your mind starts to wander to different things,” her coach Nathan Burke said post-match.

“She has a history of knee injuries and things like that, but we’ll just have to wait and see and keep our fingers crossed.”

The Bulldogs said they will find out the scan results on Monday.

Davey’s right knee appeared to buckle under her while attempting a tackle late in Collingwood’s win on Sunday over Carlton.

The reigning AFLW best and fairest player and Magpies co-captain was in tears as trainers helped her from the field.

Also on Sunday, Lutkins and Davison were hurt as the Lions started their premiership defence with a loss to Adelaide.

Lutkins left the ground after just five minutes when her knee caught awkwardly in the ground.

It was a similar non-contact injury story for Davison just before halftime when her foot gripped in the surface.

“Kate doesn’t look too good, change of direction, no-one around her and her knee buckles, so that doesn’t look great,” coach Craig Starcevich said.

“Dakota pushing back after taking a mark and twisting her foot at a funny angle, that doesn’t look good either.

“A key back and a key forward – it’s a pretty good day at the office when you lose those two players.

Knee reconstructions have been a major issue in the AFLW throughout its five-year history.

But the league’s latest injury report showed ACL injuries were at their lowest in the league last year.

AAP