Some Good News At Last

[swoodley]

McVeigh on track to return against Sydney

Wednesday, 7 May 2008
for essendonfc.com.au
Page 1 of 1

Mark McVeigh is well on the road to recovery following a hamstring injury which sidelined the midfielder during Essendon’s Round 4 clash with the Western Bulldogs.

Determined to be back in the side which takes on Sydney in Round 8, McVeigh believes his progress is tracking well.

“I have just finished four weeks of rehab which has been quite intense in terms of running,” McVeigh said.

“I did parts of the skills session today and I will do a full skills session on Friday, so everything is coming along quite well.
“Throughout my rehabilitation I have done everything I possibly could. If I have done well enough and if the club feels I’m up to it then I will be available for selection the following week.”

McVeigh’s possible injection into the Essendon line-up, along with Dustin Fletcher and Sam Lonergan, may provide just what the Bombers need to lift.

“The team will be inspired against Sydney,” he said.

“They have been down for the past couple of weeks for a variety of reasons. We have had a few players out that have been around for a number of years and have played a fair bit of footy.

“I think the addition of a bit more experience will assist guys like Lloydy, Watson and Hille as they lead the side. I’m sure that we will provide a bit of confidence to a few of the younger guys in the side also.”

The performance of Jay Neagle was one positive that McVeigh took out of Sunday's average performance against Port Power.

“I think he was good last week,” he said.

“He knows that he has a bit of work to do on his fitness but he is doing that and he is working hard.
“I think he was good out of the goal square - he competed well and tried hard. He just needs to get more game time under his belt and get his fitness up to scratch and he knows the steps he needs to take in order to do that.

“I am very happy for him and we need players like him standing up sooner rather than later.”

Heading north this weekend for the AFL’s Community Round, McVeigh will visit Epping Football Club in New South Wales.

“I’m going back to my local club to announce the best team over the last 30-years,” he said.

“I’m fairly sure my dad will feature fairly prominently in that so my brother Jarrad and I will present something to him and a few other players that are involved."

McVeigh is looking forward to catching up with his family during the bye weekend.

“I can’t wait to catch up with mum and dad,” he said.

“I also haven’t seen my brother for quite a while so it will be interesting to catch up before we hopefully run out against each other the week after.
“He is in pretty good form so it will be good to catch up with him and have a chat with him and relax.”

[BenDoolan]

Desperately needed!

[Crazyman]

Great to have him back, but unless we change the way we play, I can't see it making shit all difference

[tom9779]

Its almost a realist(and not a pessimists) point of view that Lonergan, Fletcher and Mcveigh will have been rushed back in, end up doing their hamstring/quads again in the first quarter.

And i've noted sheedy has gotten lovett on the emergency list for the hall of fame tribute game....

just knowing our luck........

[Walda]

If it was any other club, i might be more enthusiastic, but Sydney strangle most opposition. The irony is, Knights plays so many in front of the ball, that Sydney wont even have to flood.

[jimmyc1985]

Its almost a realist(and not a pessimists) point of view that Lonergan, Fletcher and Mcveigh will have been rushed back in, end up doing their hamstring/quads again in the first quarter.

And i've noted sheedy has gotten lovett on the emergency list for the hall of fame tribute game....

just knowing our luck........

Hardly rushing Lonergan & McVeigh back - by the time the Sydney game rolls around, they'll have been out for 5 weeks. I'd be worried about Fletcher being rushed in, though.

[tom9779]

I meant rushed back in, in hindsight.(its always in hindsight) when a player redoes an injury.

they say a hamstring is min 3 weeks, but can depending on the severity be much longer can't it? (eg lloyds pull off the bone).

i've only ever tweaked my hammy.

you just hope with all injuries, the docs are standing up to the footy department and the players and making sure they have had the time off and rehab they need.

[Malky]

*Checks date to make sure it's not April 1*

Phew!

It's taken 5 weeks to hear some good news... at least this is for real!!!

[robrulz5]

That's good to hear. He will certainly help the side out.

[Windy_Hill]

Yep, he'll probably do his knee in a routine trainng drill now!!!

[Megan]

Oh lordie, getting Spike back and at his best would be... the highlight of my season.

[rockhole]

Also looks like Lonegan and Reimers will play in the twos today