Star Eagle suffers rare injury in loss to Blues

Justin Chadwick | June 15, 2025

West Coast are optimistic Oscar Allen has avoided a season-ending injury despite their skipper crumpling in a heap behind play in Sunday’s 34-point loss to Carlton at Optus Stadium.  

The Blues kicked 10 of the first 11 goals to set up the 12.14 (86) to 7.10 (52) victory in wet and slippery conditions at Optus Stadium.

Carlton improved their season record to 6-7, a massive improvement from their 0-4 start to the season.

Star Blues forward Charlie Curnow went off in the second quarter with a calf concern – before later insisting the move was only a precaution.

But it was the way Allen went down off the ball in the final term that proved the biggest talking point out of the match. 

Allen looked to be favouring his heavily-strapped left knee as he slowly hobbled to the bench with the help of two trainers as the 43,803-strong crowd held their collective breath.

After the match, West Coast coach Andrew McQualter said it was actually a plantaris muscle injury Allen had suffered – not a problem with his troublesome knee.

The plantaris muscle is a small muscle in the lower leg that plays a role in both plantar flexion of the foot and flexion of the knee.

“We think it’s not too bad,” McQualter said.

“We’re still going to work through the details exactly, but we’re hopeful that it’s not serious.

“When you see a player go down with no contact off the ball like that, you think the worst.

“Obviously I saw him come off and then our medical team just briefly said that we’ve avoided all the worst-case scenarios and we’ll work through what’s next.”

Allen is a high-profile restricted free agent who is being heavily chased by Hawthorn and Brisbane.

McQualter said the 26-year-old was holding up OK.

“Everyone who gets injured is a bit emotional, and that’s just normal,” McQualter said. 

“And we lost the game of footy, but he’s OK.”

Eagles defender Harry Edwards, who damaged his shoulder earlier in the match, will undergo scans after injuring his hamstring in the second half.

Carlton were also left with injury concerns.

The Blues’ official line was that Curnow had suffered calf tightness, and the key forward did his best to play down any concerns after the match.

“It’s fine,” Curnow told Fox Footy. 

“I’ve never really had a soft tissue before. I had a bit of awareness … so we’ll see how we go. 

“It looks like it’s going to be pretty fine. So I look forward to getting out against North Melbourne next week. 

“You’ve just got to be really careful with those things.”

Fellow star forward Harry McKay missed his second straight game with a knee issue that may end up requiring surgery, while gun midfielder Sam Walsh is out for five to six weeks after a hot spot in his foot was discovered on Friday. 

Nic Newman (knee), No.3 draft pick Jagga Smith (knee) and Brodie Kemp (achilles) are already out for the rest of the season.

Blues ruck-forward Hudson O’Keeffe went down with a hamstring injury in the second half against West Coast, while scans will determine if Curnow has anything to worry about.

“Charlie mentioned about going back out there, but ultimately we made the decision that it was a risk not worth taking,” Carlton coach Michael Voss said of the decision to sub out Curnow.

George Hewett racked up 35 disposals and seven clearances for Carlton, while Lachie Fogarty and Mitch McGovern kicked three goals apiece.

Harley Reid battled hard for West Coast with 28 possessions and five clearances.

Eagles debutant Tom McCarthy, who was snared with pick No.1 in the mid-season rookie draft, was arguably his team’s best with 31 disposals and 571 metres gained, while Bailey Williams kicked three goals.