St Kilda superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has limped off with a hamstring injury early in the first quarter of his side’s pseudo elimination final against Carlton.
The $2m midfielder pulled up lame while chasing the ball out of a centre stoppage at Marvel Stadium on Friday night and headed straight for the bench, clearly knowing he had done some damage.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera tears hamstring minutes into crucial clash
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“Ooo — Nas has done his hamstring! Wanganeen-Milera has done his left hamstring! He is cooked for the rest of the year with that injury!” Brian Taylor said on Channel 7.
“He has done his left hamstring, there is no doubt about it. This is a massive, massive injury to the superstar of the competition.”
There was an audible reaction from the crowd as Wanganeen-Milera reached for his hamstring before going straight down into the rooms.
“(He) knew it straight away,” Kane Cornes said.
“He’s dejected down there, you can even see his teammates, how flat they are.
“There was an audible groan with the crowd as well, you just don’t see a reaction like that to a standard hammy, but that’s how important he is to everyone here tonight.”
The Saints confirmed within minutes that Wanganeen-Milera would take no further part in the game.
“When you’re as dominant a star as Wanganeen-Milera has been for this group over the last two years, that will send a ripple through them,” St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt said.
If St Kilda qualifies for the wildcard weekend, Wanganeen-Milera would have a maximum of 19 days to recover in time to play.
It was a dramatic start to the game for the Saints, who were sweating on a shoulder injury to Liam Ryan just minutes later, but the star forward shook it off and came back on.
The Saints’ injury toll worsened in the second quarter when veteran winger Brad Hill went down into the rooms after landing awkwardly on his left leg.
Hill re-emerged back onto the interchange bench minutes later, but St Kilda couldn’t catch a break, with Mason Wood going down the race in the same moment.
Wood was later ruled out for the remainder of the game with a calf injury.
Wanganeen-Milera had been under an injury cloud all week, missing Thursday’s training as he battled a hip pointer issue suffered in last week’s loss to Sydney — but was ultimately cleared to play.
The 23-year-old has averaged 30 disposals, a goal and a direct goal assist this season, but has been red-hot in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago, Wanganeen-Milera kicked four goals and had 46 disposals — one of three hauls of 40-plus disposals in the past six weeks — while he still collected three goals and 24 touches against the Swans last week.
W ith AAP
