DARLEY star Steve Kennedy has been cleared of serious damage after a scary incident on Saturday in which he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
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The match between the Devils and Sebastopol was paused in the third quarter as Kennedy was stretchered off the ground with suspected spinal injuries.
Kennedy, one of the genuine stars of the Ballarat Football League, has suffered a serious back injury in the past, leading to fears he may have again done serious damage.
However, hospital scans cleared him of any fractures and it is even possible he could return to the field next week.
Devils coach Jarrod Edwards said his star midfielder had copped a knee to the back in the exact same spot where he fractured it three years ago.
Kennedy missed almost a year of football with that initial injury, with fears he might have done the same thing on Saturday.
“It sounds like there is just swelling where is previous fracture was,” Edwards said.
“He’s been cleared of any structural damage or fractures so it’s the good news we all wanted.”
“He’s even a slight chance to play next week.”
Edwards said there was a collective gasp around Darley Park when Kennedy went down on the wing.
“You could see he was in a fair bit of pain so it was hard not to think the worst,” Edwards said.
“It’s great for him and us that he’s all good now, we can just focus on getting him right to play again.”
The incident was the second time an ambulance was required at Darley Park on Saturday, with reserves player Liam Davie suffering concussion after hitting his head on the ground in a tackle. He too has been cleared of major damage.
The good news topped off a brilliant day for the Devils, who smashed Sebastopol by a massive 192 points.
Continued, page 37.