Essendon star Dylan Shiel has been left on crutches after suffering a knee injury in a horror outing which saw two other teammates injured against Port Adelaide.
Coming into the game after blowing a 40-point lead in Round One, Essendon was thoroughly outclassed by a slick Power side, who slammed on the first five goals of the afternoon before running out 18. 11. (119) to 9. 11. (65) winners at the Adelaide Oval.
After being battered in the first half of the contest, Essendon's afternoon went from bad to worse when Shiel grabbed his left knee after being crunched in a tackle by Port skipper Tom Jonas in the final quarter.
The star midfielder was helped off the ground in the hands of the trainers, unable to place any weight on his left leg, before he was seen returning from the rooms on crutches with his left knee heavily iced.
Shiel's injury came after Essendon suffered a pair of injuries to young duo Jye Caldwell and Sam Draper in the third quarter.
Caldwell had been one of the Bombers' best performers before injuring his hamstring in as he drove the ball inside 50 with a long distance kick.
Draper, who suffered a torn ACL during the 2019 season, landed awkwardly in a marking contest, prompting fears that he had injured his knee yet again. However, the big man had his left ankle iced.
"Jye is just a hamstring, Dylan is a knee and Draper is kind of a high ankle," Essendon coach Ben Rutten said post-match.
"I think the doctors don't think it is an ACL (for Shiel) but it has just locked up on him and we will have scans to see what it is."
"It is one of those high ankle ones (Draper) but we will have to investigate further and wait and see."
The triple injury blow for Essendon came after skipper Dyson Heppell was a late withdrawal due to back spasms which required him to undergo scans on Friday morning.
Essendon was not the only team impacted by a late withdrawal, with Port Adelaide forward Todd Marshall also a late scratch.
While Heppell's replacement, Martin Gleeson, had little impact on the contest, Marshall's replacement, Mitch Georgiades, starred with four goals and 13 disposals.
The match also marked Port Adelaide forward Orazio Fantasia's first match against his old side after leaving the club in last year's trade period, and Fantasia finished with two goals and 17 disposals.
Fantasia was involved in a few minor scuffles, but was embraced by his old teammates after the Power's 54-point victory.
Port Adelaide will face a much stiffer task in Round Three as they travel west to take on the West Coast Eagles on Saturday night, while Essendon will also play on Saturday, hosting St Kilda in a twilight fixture.
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