Essendon’s top draftee, Elijah Tsatas, has suffered a knee injury that will require surgery.
The Bombers took Tsatas with Pick 5 of the 2022 draft and the young midfielder has made a great start to his time with the club.
On Friday, Essendon announced that Tsatas would have surgery on his knee after a training incident in which a meniscus tear occurred.
The injury occurred during a tackling collision in training and Tsatas, who is 18, consulted a surgeon who recommended the operation.
The club has stated that they will not rush Tsatas’ return to play.
Tune in to every game of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season live on Kayo Sports, starting your free trial now.
“We’re going to be conservative with this one,” said Bombers assistant coach and former first-round draft pick, Daniel Tsatas.
The Bombers drafted Tsatas with their first selection in last year’s draft.
Despite strong offers from other clubs for Essendon’s first-round selection, the club maintained its position to ensure it had the best opportunity to draft an elite young player.
Elijah took a knock to his knee in a contest drill earlier this week and the initial scan revealed a small tear in the meniscus. A surgeon assessed him today and recommended it be repaired.
The post-op timeframe will be determined after the surgery, but given the young player’s bright future, we won’t rush him back to play. He’s had a great pre-season so far and we’ll give him the time he needs to recover and be ready to re-enter the AFL program.
Tsatas, 187cm, is a prototypical AFL athlete with a powerful inside-outside balance. He’s known for his ability to win the ball and burst away from stoppages to gain territory for his team. He draws inspiration from rising Swans star, Chad Warner.
Tsatas’ injury comes after he spent an entire draft year on the sidelines in 2022, after sustaining a minor fracture to his foot that sidelined him for nearly three months. In an interview last year, he described the time he spent on the sidelines as “a blessing in disguise”, as he learned more off-field through rehab and diligence than he did on the field.
“In hindsight, it wasn’t the worst thing that happened,” he said, “but it was definitely bittersweet watching the champions on the sidelines.”
What motivates Tsatas on the field? “I’m driven by winning and competing, that’s what drives me, and I’ve always been that way. I had a junior club that was really successful and when I was coming through Oakleigh, we were really successful in the NAB League.
