Gary Ablett Jr, the consensus best player in footy, had a season-ending shoulder injury in round 15 last year, went through surgery and rehab, and pronounced himself ready to start the season. But in rounds one and two, he was mugged mercilessly by the opposition "taggers" (defenders assigned to cover him) and it was clear that the shoulder still wasn't "right". Rather than play half-strength, he's chosen to sit out for at least two weeks and try to put it back into the shape it needs to be to play a roughhouse game like footy.
Retired AFL legend Wayne Carey writes a thoughtful article on the topic in The Age, and it's worth a read no matter what sport you follow - are short-term on-field endeavors worth long-term physical damage? It relates back to the concussion conversations in American football, and to the knee damage that so many basketball players suffer as well. In short, Carey says he's changed his mind and now agrees with Ablett's decision, because of the difficulty Carey now has trying to pick up his infant daughter.
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