SIMON Goodwin says Jesse Hogan’s surgery on Tuesday was a success, after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer last week.
Speaking at AAMI Park at a media conference on Thursday morning, Goodwin said it was “great news for Jesse” that the operation went as planned.
“It’s a really traumatic thing he’s gone through, but the operation went incredibly well,” he said.
“The main thing is that we get Jesse back to full health and in a really good mindset and welcome him back to the footy club.
“We’ll give him time away [from the club] to recover and heal, and get his mind right. The main thing was that it was the best positive news we could’ve got. The operation went extremely well.”
Goodwin said Hogan will be sidelined for roughly four to eight weeks.
“It really will come down to Jesse, and when he feels comfortable to get back into training and playing – that’s when he’ll come back to the fold,” he said.
“It really is up to the individual and we’re going to put no pressure on him at all.
“He loves being around the footy club and he loves his footy, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be back quite quickly.”
Reflecting on last round’s outstanding 41-point win over the Crows at Adelaide Oval, Goodwin said the team was “back on the tools” and fully focused for its clash against North Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.
“North Melbourne has played some strong footy all year and it’s an incredibly tight competition and we know that, so we have to play our best,” he said.
“We’ve set a new level and a new benchmark of standard and performance, and our expectation is that we deliver that most weeks.
“I know the players are really keen to make sure they build some momentum and really get back to work.”
Goodwin said James Harmes, Alex Neal-Bullen and Billy Stretch were in the mix for a recall after some strong performances with Casey.
Jake Melksham is another under consideration after missing last round, due to a one-match suspension sustained in the VFL. But there are likely to minimal changes for round nine.
Goodwin said the immediate playing future of Angus Brayshaw (concussion) was still to be determined.
“We’ll meet today (Thursday) to discuss Angus in depth, but we’re really clear that we’re going to tailor a really specific program for Angus,” he said.
“The great thing about Angus is that he’s recovering well and he’s really positive about playing footy again. We’ll build a program, whether that’s two weeks, three weeks or four weeks – and we’ll take it week-by-week.
Goodwin said Max Gawn (hamstring) was “about four or five weeks” away from returning and Jayden Hunt (concussion) was still to be assessed this week.
“He’s pulled up incredibly well, but we’d like to see him do a fair bit of training to be available,” he said.
“We’ll assess him today (Thursday), but also Saturday, because concussion is a really individualised case. Our medicos do a great job … but we’ll assess him as the week goes on.”
