Nissan AFLW Injury Update: Young defender enters concussion protocol

The young defender Mackenzie Eardley will miss Sunday’s match between Hawthorn and Brisbane.

Eardley suffered a head injury during the Hawks’ Round 4 loss to Melbourne, and as a result, entered the league’s concussion protocol.

Hawthorn AFLW High Performance Manager Olivia Knowles said the club will keep a close eye on the 19-year-old in her recovery.

“This is her second concussion this year so we’ll manage her conservatively if we need to but at this stage, she’s tracking through nicely,” Knowles said.

In better news on the concussion front, Zoe Barbakos is now available while Louise Stephenson is a test this week.

“Lou’s been progressing through the concussion protocol as expected so she’ll do some non-contact training today and progress through to full training on Thursday,” Knowles said.

Winger Akec Makur Chuot is also a test for Sunday’s match after being managed for Hawthorn’s hit-out against the Dees.

“She’s had some chronic knee soreness that she’s been managing, so we’ll test her at training this week to see if she’ll be available,” Knowles said.

Elsewhere, Sarah Perkins will start straight-line running this week in her bid to recover from a calf injury while Tegan Cunningham is beginning to integrate into some drills with the main training group as she aims to recover from a hamstring strain.

AFLW Injury List 

Player	Injury	Availability	Expected return
Tegan Cunningham	Hamstring	Unavailable	2-3 weeks
Mackenzie Eardley	Concussion	Unavailable	1 week
Akec Makur Chuot	Knee	Test	Test
Sarah Perkins	Calf	Unavailable	3-4 weeks
Louise Stephenson	Concussion	Test	Test