OLLIE WINES will have surgery to his left shoulder tonight with Port Adelaide electing to put the long-term needs of its 20-year-old bullocking midfielder ahead of the short-term benefit of him playing on in 2015.
Wines was substituted from the Power’s 63-point win over St Kilda on Sunday afternoon after dislocating his shoulder in a collision with David Armitage.
While he was able to return to the game, Power coach Ken Hinkley took the decision to remove him from the game.
INJURIES: Monday's injury update
Port Adelaide’s ‘no risk’ injury policy overrode any thought of allowing Wines to play-on in 2015, even though players in the AFL have shown shoulders can be managed through the season.
It rules him out of the rest of the year, but will ensure he is able to resume close-to-full training in mid-November.
Depending on whether Port Adelaide plays through September, that may mean he resumes on the first day of the Power’s 2016 pre-season training program.
“He’ll be in a sling for between four and six weeks, and then he’ll begin running and movement after that,” Port Adelaide’s head of high performance Darren Burgess told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“It’s generally a 12-week process to get him back into contact and normal training.
“People have played with them in the past, but given his age, the combative nature of his game style and our ‘no risk’ policy in situations like this – the need to put his health and wellbeing first – it was probably an easy decision to make in the end.
“Ollie was keen to look at playing through, because he’s a tough player and wants to be out on the field, but in the end he was really comfortable with the direction we wanted to take.
“He’ll start somewhere around the middle of November and will be all right to do 95 per cent of the drills on Day 1.”
Wines is a 62-game player for Port Adelaide and has won two Gavin Wanganeen Medals during his three-year stint at Alberton.
The first-round draft pick’s star has risen quickly at Port Adelaide, having been elevated to the Power’s leadership group this season.
