- Dustin Martin has been away in New Zealand
- He will not be able to play for Richmond this weekend.
- Doubts about Martin’s future have grown
Richmond legend Dustin Martin was unable to prove his fitness for this weekend’s match against Port Adelaide due to being in New Zealand.
According to 7News reporter Mitch Cleary, Martin spent the beginning of the week overseas and only returned to Melbourne on Tuesday night.
“He traveled there last week to visit his family and missed the Tigers’ loss to the Giants,” Cleary said.
‘He returned late on Tuesday night, meaning he never got a chance to prove his fitness due to his persistent back problem.’
The 33-year-old was ruled out of this weekend’s clash with the Power due to a back injury that has kept him out of the Tigers’ last two games.
He was not at Punt Rd on Thursday and there are growing doubts that he will even return to the field in the yellow and black jersey.
Triple gold medallist Norm Smith has been linked with a possible reunion with Damien Hardwick on the Gold Coast next year. Other reports have suggested he could walk away from football altogether.
It has been revealed that Dustin Martin took a trip abroad to New Zealand
The 33-year-old has been ruled out of this weekend’s match against Port Adelaide.
“It’s a little frustrating for us,” Richmond coach Adam Yze said of Martin’s back injury.
“We were hoping he could train today. His back is still a bit sore, so if we let him play today, it will probably get worse again.”
“That’s why it’s easier for us to rule him out this week and try to get him some training load the following week.
‘He has a back spasm at the moment. If we try to push him to overcome that problem, it could get worse.
“We’ll give him that extra time so he can hopefully recover next week.”
