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Blues try to unravel ‘complex’ injury woes

Carlton vs Melbourne
Jack Martin suffered a calf injury at Carlton training this week and is set to miss at least two weeks. Picture: Michael Klein

Carlton coach Michael Voss says an ongoing spate of soft tissue injuries is “disappointing” but is adamant it will not change his expectations for the Blues’ season.

Voss said the club was continuing to “attack” its review of its conditioning program after luckless forward Jack Martin was again sidelined after suffering a calf strain at Ikon Park this week.

Carlton will need to recalibrate its forward line against Sydney at the SCG on Friday without both Martin and Matthew Cottrell, who could miss months with a foot stress reaction.

It comes as Lachie Fogarty (wrist) and Jesse Motlop (hamstring) remain at least one week away, while David Cuningham also suffered a calf strain in the VFL last Friday and will be unavailable until round 13 at the earliest.

AFL Rd 9 - Carlton v Melbourne
Carlton forward Jack Martin’s calf injury is ‘only minor’ according to Blues coach Michael Voss, but he could still miss several games as the club manages him carefully. Picture: Dylan Burns / Getty Images

“(The injuries) will be an important conversation for us to have over the coming weeks – for us right now, it’s about what we’ve got in front of us,” Voss said on Thursday.

“Nothing changes in our expectations in that regard.

“Every team is trying to get cohesion, and every team will have their challenges … but that’s part of the story that we need to be able to lean into, and part of it’s not just about what’s not there, but it’s more about who is there.”

The coach said Martin’s calf strain was “only minor” but his lengthy injury history meant he would be handled with caution.

“It’s somewhat unfortunate – (Martin) is a very important player for us, and he’ll figure prominently for us when he returns,” he said.

AFL Rd 9 -  Carlton v Melbourne
Voss is highly confident Jacob Weitering, who is contracted until the end of 2025, will at some stage pen a long-term deal to remain at Carlton. Picture: Robert Cianflone / Getty Images

“(The injuries) have been a challenge, but it’s not something that we’ve looked at just recently, it’s been something that we’ve been trying to address for a little period of time.

“Every one you get is a little disappointing, but at the same time we try to treat it exactly the same way – we have to look at the reasons why it’s happened, and we have to try put some things in place to stop it happening.

“It’s a fairly complex sort of answer, but you know, we look at the problem, we try to solve the problem together and that’s the way we try to attack it.”

Voss was highly confident Jacob Weitering would recommit to the Blues in the long-term as he brushed off reports of a monster St Kilda contract offer to the star fullback.

“I am very confident. I don’t think we spend a hell of a lot of time in speculation to be honest,” he said.

“We don’t tend to speak a lot around contracts … we deal with that privately, we deal with that with the management group and we deal with that with the players, and I’m sure at the right time, we’ll see (Weitering) in the Carlton jumper for a very long time.”