Richmond key forward Tom Lynch will be out for the “longer term”, while fellow forward Noah Balta will miss about a month after the pair suffered respective injury blows on Sunday.
“That changes their world completely,” Dwayne Russell said on AFL Nation after learning of the news.
The Tigers pulled off a five-point gritty win over Sydney on Sunday afternoon at the ‘G but have been brought down to earth following the news of two major injury blows.
Lynch didn’t play late in the contest with a hamstring injury the Tigers now believe will require surgery.
“It is rotten luck for Tom, who worked extremely diligently to prepare his body for the season after what was a tough season for him last year,” footy boss Tim Livingstone said in a statement.
“Unfortunately for Tom, he landed in a motion that has caused this injury.
“He will consult a surgeon in the coming days, which will give us a clearer picture of the injuries timeline, but we are expecting he will be out for the longer term."
The Tigers believe it is a left hamstring tendon injury for Lynch. The 31-year-old missed most of Richmond’s 2023 campaign and subsequent 2024 pre-season with a foot injury.
Balta, meanwhile, suffered an MCL injury that will see him miss for 3-5 weeks, according to Richmond, after landing awkwardly in the final minute of the Round 3 win.
“In one of the last contests of the game, Noah unfortunately hurt his knee, and scans have confirmed some damage to his MCL,” Livingstone said.
“We will assess him further this week, but we do not expect him to play before the bye.”
The tall duo combined for two goals in the win over Sydney and have become the centrepieces of a new-look Richmond forward line early in 2024.
The Tigers were already missing Jacob Hopper (knee), Dion Prestia (hamstring), Nathan Broad (calf), Josh Gibcus (knee) and Jack Graham (quad) from Sunday’s win.