Western Bulldogs superstar Sam Darcy has gone down with a potentially serious knee injury.
Early in the second quarter of Friday night’s clash against Geelong, Darcy collapsed in a heap in the forward pocket under no pressure.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Sam Darcy suffers devastating knee injury
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He immediately punched the ground in distress as medical staff rushed onto the field to lend assistance.
“That does not look good at all. On the ground under no contact,” Channel 7 commentator James Brayshaw said.
Richmond great Matthew Richardson added: “That’s not good, feel sick, actually. Put some weight down on it and it collapsed under him.”
Darcy was able to get to his feet and hobble off, but he appeared distraught.
Western Bulldogs star Sam Darcy left the field after injuring his left knee against the Cats. Credit: AAP
He quickly disappeared down to the rooms.
Boundary commentator Abbey Holmes said the “entire stadium fell silent” at the sight.
“So many people, in doesn’t matter who you support, we love and appreciate and respect the type of footballer and athlete Sam Darcy is,” she said.
Darcy was consoled by teammates during the half-time break.
“We do have concerns of a serious knee injury,” Western Bulldogs footy boss Sam Power told Channel 7 at half-time.
“Naturally, he’s upset. It’s great to see him walking along to the bench, which is a real show of Sam’s character and always prioritising the team ahead of himself.”
Father and Western Bulldogs great Luke was also in the rooms. The 226-gamer suffered two serious knee injuries during his decorated career that sidelined him for most of 2005-06.
Darcy had started the game brightly a couple of big marks as he assumed a bigger rucking role in the absence of Tim English.
The 22-year-old was tipped for an enormous season after kicking 48 goals from just 17 games last year.
He kicked multiple goals in all but one match this year to have 12 from five games.
The club will have their fingers crossed he can avoid the dreaded ACL tear, and will hope it’s a repeat of last year when he went down in similar scenes.
It was initially thought he tore his ACL in that Round 6 match against St Kilda, but it turned out to be significant ligament damage and he was able to return two months later.
Another extended stint on the sidelines this year will be a hammer blow to the Western Bulldogs, who had begun the season with four straight wins before losing to Hawthorn last week.
But the injuries are now piling up at an alarming rate.
Gun midfielder Tom Liberatore, who returned this week from a hamstring injury, suffered a concussion during the first half.
He will be ruled out of next week’s blockbuster against Sydney as a result.
Skipper Marcus Bontempelli sent a massive scare through the club when he hyperextended his knee in the third term.
He spent time off the ground, but was able to return and play out the match.
However, there was more carnage to come with James O’Donnell becoming the third player ruled out when he succumbed to a hamstring injury.
But it didn’t end there. Rory Lobb was the next to come to the bench after grabbing at his hamstring.
That left the Dogs down to just one fit player on the bench.
The quartet will be added to a lengthy injury list that includes recent additions Connor Budarick (hamstring) and Arty Jones (hamstring).
Cody Weightman is also working his way back from multiple injuries.
In better news, veteran Adam Treloar put his hand up for a recall with 41 possessions in the VFL earlier on Friday night.
