Luckless Richmond star Jacob Hopper was left fuming after limping off the field during Wednesday’s loss to Melbourne.
And to make matters worse for the 27-year-old, his coach later gave a bizarre explanation for the hamstring issue that ended his night prematurely.
Hopper was playing his first game since suffering a knee injury in round two this season.
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He had a game-high 23 disposals and the Tigers were on top early in the third quarter, before disaster struck.
Hopper tried to battle through the pain but eventually had to be subbed out, and the Demons subsequently ran away to win 13.7 (85) to 5.12 (42).
Hopper was furious as he left the field, kicking the interchange bench in frustration.
Coach Adem Yze believed the hamstring issue may have been down to the strapping on the player’s knee.
“I think it’s one of the first games that he’s played with tape on his knee, so we originally thought it was something to do with the tape and whether the tape was too tight and things like that,” Yze said post-game.
“And he hasn’t hurt his hammy before, so he tried to stay out there and run it out.
“I think the fact that he had a taped knee made it a little bit uncomfortable.”
Hopper was a big recruit for Richmond but has already missed 11 games through injury since arriving at Tigerland last year.
He now looks likely to rejoin a bulging casualty ward at the club that includes Jayden Short (calf), Tom Lynch (hamstring), Tim Taranto (wrist), Dion Prestia (hamstring), Noah Balta (knee), Jack Ross (foot), and Josh Gibcus (knee).
“It’s disappointing for the guy because he put a power of work in, trained really hard, made sure that he was ready to play,” Yze said.
“Just feel sorry for him. Hopefully it’s not a bad one, but I think it’s just a minor tweak.
“Hopefully it is a short term.”
The Tigers next face Fremantle on Sunday week.
