Mark Stevens
November 23, 2007 12:00am
ST KILDA defender Matt Maguire has another stress fracture in his left foot.Scans show the inury that severely hampered his 2007 season has flared again.
The Saints last night confirmed Maguire would miss the next four to six weeks of training.
Given the history of Maguire's battle-scarred leg, the club's medical staff is certain to take a cautious approach.
"We had a precautionary scan done and it found a stress fracture," St Kilda head of football Matthew Drain said last night.
"The diagnosis is as good as it can be, but he will miss four to six weeks. It's not ideal, but that's what it is."
The injury is to the navicular bone that famously gave former Essendon champion James Hird so much grief, but the Saints are confident it is at the lower end of the scale.
"Matt is disappointed, obviously," Drain said.
"The fact it's happened now is the only positive."
Maguire felt soreness after a running session early this week.
The setback is particularly frustrating given the 23-year-old's past issues with his left leg.
Maguire had multiple operations on the leg after breaking the tibia and fibula in a gruesome collision in Round 18, 2006.
He suffered complications with compartment syndrome in his calf and spent 21 days in hospital.
Doctors had to cut into his calf numerous times to clear the build-up of blood, with ever-increasing difficulty repairing the wound.
Maguire was originally expected to be sidelined until the middle of this season, but made a stunning recovery to be back for Round 1 against Melbourne.
It was short-lived with scans revealing a stress fracture in the left foot.
The club initially hoped he would mix six weeks, but the layoff stretched to three months.
Maguire managed to return to play 10 matches this season, but struggled to find his best form after so long out of the game.
He started the pre-season intent on recapturing his best form next season on the back of an uninterrupted program.
Stress fractures are a risk for players returning from serious leg breaks.
Richmond's Nathan Brown suffered a long battle with soreness after surgery on a broken leg.
