AFL Player # 5: Elijah Tsatas

[TheGrizz]

Contract Status: Out of contract 2026
2024 My Boy Draft: Pick 14, Lore

 

[Lore]

Now five weeks away

Top five pick Elijah Tsatas is continuing a steady rehab trajectory as he overcomes a knee injury.

GM of Performance Daniel McPherson says after conservative recovery periods, Tsatas is reaching the pointy end of his rehab program.

“It’s pleasing to have Elijah continue his steady recovery from long-term injury,” McPherson said.

“He’ll continue to gradually build on his fitness and barring any unexpected hiccups, will be looking to integrate into our main training group over the coming weeks.”

Injury news: Cox, Tsatas inch closer

All the latest injury news ahead of round eight.

www.essendonfc.com.au

 

[Pweter]

Now five weeks away

Injury news: Cox, Tsatas inch closer

All the latest injury news ahead of round eight.

www.essendonfc.com.au

And from the Cox injury update:

Third-year utility Nik Cox is continuing a steady rehab trajectory as he overcomes a back injury.

GM of Performance Daniel McPherson says after conservative recovery periods, Cox is reaching the pointy end of his rehab program.

“It’s pleasing to have Nik continue his steady recovery from long-term injury,” McPherson said.

“He’ll continue to gradually build on his fitness and barring any unexpected hiccups, will be looking to integrate into our main training group over the coming weeks.”

Do our website content editors and Dan McPherson need to introduce some new words/phrases into their vocabulary?

 

[Lore]

And from the Cox injury update:



Do our website content editors and Dan McPherson need to introduce some new words/phrases into their vocabulary?

No, I wish they went to the effort of even putting the same words in twice, or better yet gave an individual update for each and every player on the injury list.

If you read the actual injury update they just gave one combined blurb for both players, but I duplicated it and fixed the grammar so that we don't end up talking about Cox in the Tsatas thread and vice versa

 

[Pweter]

No, I wish they went to the effort of even putting the same words in twice, or better yet gave an individual update for each and every player on the injury list.

If you read the actual injury update they just gave one combined blurb for both players, but I duplicated it and fixed the grammar so that we don't end up talking about Cox in the Tsatas thread and vice versa

Ah ok, my mistake. That'll learn me for being lazy

 

[Lore]

 

[ghostdog]

No, I wish they went to the effort of even putting the same words in twice, or better yet gave an individual update for each and every player on the injury list.

If you read the actual injury update they just gave one combined blurb for both players, but I duplicated it and fixed the grammar so that we don't end up talking about Cox in the Tsatas thread and vice versa

You are too generous, Lore, to us and to them.

 

[bombreys]

Wasn’t he originally supposed to be playing around round 5-6? Why is he still another 5 weeks away?

 

[andleanback]

Wasn’t he originally supposed to be playing around round 5-6? Why is he still another 5 weeks away?

No, they adjusted his timeline and said he’d be back around mid season before the season had begun.

 

[Lore]

Wasn’t he originally supposed to be playing around round 5-6? Why is he still another 5 weeks away?

No. He hurt it at training in January and we got an update from the club on the 20th of Jan saying he would be getting surgery and that they would manage the recovery conservatively. There was no recovery timeframe given at that point, they just said that it would be decided post-operatively.

Right before round 1 he was spotted on the training track, but we don't know how much work he was doing. This was about 6 weeks post-op, 7 weeks post-injury. We then promptly got another injury update which listed him as 3-4 months return to play. 3 months is exactly the bye (round 14), and 4 months is 4 weeks post-bye (round 18).

In round 5 they had 7 weeks on the injury update, which is round 12.

In round 7 they had 6 weeks on the injury update, which is round 13.

Now it's round 8 and they're telling us 5 weeks, which is round 12 again.



Blitz and Tim Watson both guessed some random number of weeks after that 20 Jan report came out, with Tim's 8 week guess giving us a Round 1 return and Blitz' 12 week guess giving about round 5. But they didn't know anything, they were just guessing based on the words "meniscus tear" what an average timeframe might be, and turned out to be quite wrong.

The problem with guessing is that a meniscus tear has multiple grades, with worse ones taking longer to heal, and it also has multiple ways of being treated, either by cutting out the torn cartilage, which used to be the only way to treat it and results in a faster return to play but also fast-tracks osteoarthritis (bone on bone in the knee joint with no cushioning – extremely painful and may require regular drainage and injections to manage it through the end of his career, which is likely to be shortened when he can't run), or they can try and stitch it back together and then rehab the whole thing, which takes way longer to heal because of poor blood flow to the area, but long term can lead to full or almost full recovery.

The latter conservative management scheme is what was done for Dylan Shiel a couple of years ago, and even with meticulous rehab and preparation for a fit senior player who is able to slot into the senior side once the injury is healed, it still took like at least 16 weeks to heal (including a small setback with a concurrent injury iirc). Like he hurt it in round 2 and didn't come back until Round 18.

In Tsatas case he's a first year player who has never even played VFL, so the chance of him coming straight in after rehabbing it is unlikely anyway (although the fact that he's been doing basic training stuff for a couple of months and back running recently is helpful in that regard, and suggests he's actually getting quite close to being deemed medically fit).

 

[fairbump_playon]

No. He hurt it at training in January and we got an update from the club on the 20th of Jan saying he would be getting surgery and that they would manage the recovery conservatively. There was no recovery timeframe given at that point, they just said that it would be decided post-operatively.

Right before round 1 he was spotted on the training track, but we don't know how much work he was doing. This was about 6 weeks post-op, 7 weeks post-injury. We then promptly got another injury update which listed him as 3-4 months return to play. 3 months is exactly the bye (round 14), and 4 months is 4 weeks post-bye (round 18).

In round 5 they had 7 weeks on the injury update, which is round 12.

In round 7 they had 6 weeks on the injury update, which is round 13.

Now it's round 8 and they're telling us 5 weeks, which is round 12 again.



Blitz and Tim Watson both guessed some random number of weeks after that 20 Jan report came out, with Tim's 8 week guess giving us a Round 1 return and Blitz' 12 week guess giving about round 5. But they didn't know anything, they were just guessing based on the words "meniscus tear" what an average timeframe might be, and turned out to be quite wrong.

The problem with guessing is that a meniscus tear has multiple grades, with worse ones taking longer to heal, and it also has multiple ways of being treated, either by cutting out the torn cartilage, which used to be the only way to treat it and results in a faster return to play but also fast-tracks osteoarthritis (bone on bone in the knee joint with no cushioning – extremely painful and may require regular drainage and injections to manage it through the end of his career, which is likely to be shortened when he can't run), or they can try and stitch it back together and then rehab the whole thing, which takes way longer to heal because of poor blood flow to the area, but long term can lead to full or almost full recovery.

The latter conservative management scheme is what was done for Dylan Shiel a couple of years ago, and even with meticulous rehab and preparation for a fit senior player who is able to slot into the senior side once the injury is healed, it still took like at least 16 weeks to heal (including a small setback with a concurrent injury iirc). Like he hurt it in round 2 and didn't come back until Round 18.

In Tsatas case he's a first year player who has never even played VFL, so the chance of him coming straight in after rehabbing it is unlikely anyway (although the fact that he's been doing basic training stuff for a couple of months and back running recently is helpful in that regard, and suggests he's actually getting quite close to being deemed medically fit).

Great summary

Also noting that Tsatas was a long way back in time trials pre Christmas… meaning he was probably nowhere near the fitness required to play senior footy. I’m sure they would have factored in a solid block of running even once he is pain free

 

[astrowizzle]

Torn meniscus can vary depending on severity, where the tear is and how its treated. Missing 12 months is not uncommon if the route is surgery to repair the meniscus rather than trim away the damaged piece. Id say we will be following the Shiel rehab path as it was quite clearly a success. Shiel missed rounds 3-18, and came back ok but still not 100%. No way they'll rush Tsatas.

Yeah and shield quads are strong so the strength is there to help prop up the damaged one as it healed

 

[FlyingV]

Had a look at eDPS’ comments at start of the thread and he thought he would need a year of conditioning before heading into AFL, and that was before the injury. I’d have no problem with him sitting out this year, focusing on his running and playing VFL.

 

[BrunoV]

No. He hurt it at training in January and we got an update from the club on the 20th of Jan saying he would be getting surgery and that they would manage the recovery conservatively. There was no recovery timeframe given at that point, they just said that it would be decided post-operatively.

Right before round 1 he was spotted on the training track, but we don't know how much work he was doing. This was about 6 weeks post-op, 7 weeks post-injury. We then promptly got another injury update which listed him as 3-4 months return to play. 3 months is exactly the bye (round 14), and 4 months is 4 weeks post-bye (round 18).

In round 5 they had 7 weeks on the injury update, which is round 12.

In round 7 they had 6 weeks on the injury update, which is round 13.

Now it's round 8 and they're telling us 5 weeks, which is round 12 again.



Blitz and Tim Watson both guessed some random number of weeks after that 20 Jan report came out, with Tim's 8 week guess giving us a Round 1 return and Blitz' 12 week guess giving about round 5. But they didn't know anything, they were just guessing based on the words "meniscus tear" what an average timeframe might be, and turned out to be quite wrong.

The problem with guessing is that a meniscus tear has multiple grades, with worse ones taking longer to heal, and it also has multiple ways of being treated, either by cutting out the torn cartilage, which used to be the only way to treat it and results in a faster return to play but also fast-tracks osteoarthritis (bone on bone in the knee joint with no cushioning – extremely painful and may require regular drainage and injections to manage it through the end of his career, which is likely to be shortened when he can't run), or they can try and stitch it back together and then rehab the whole thing, which takes way longer to heal because of poor blood flow to the area, but long term can lead to full or almost full recovery.

The latter conservative management scheme is what was done for Dylan Shiel a couple of years ago, and even with meticulous rehab and preparation for a fit senior player who is able to slot into the senior side once the injury is healed, it still took like at least 16 weeks to heal (including a small setback with a concurrent injury iirc). Like he hurt it in round 2 and didn't come back until Round 18.

In Tsatas case he's a first year player who has never even played VFL, so the chance of him coming straight in after rehabbing it is unlikely anyway (although the fact that he's been doing basic training stuff for a couple of months and back running recently is helpful in that regard, and suggests he's actually getting quite close to being deemed medically fit).

And while it doesn't seem to have been something put into practice, Scott said about Tippa that fitness built off a poor base is different, that it's not the same as a player who started pre-season fit and conditioned. I have no doubt that's true, we've seen body knocks, for example, take a toll on really talented athletes such as Lavender and Rayner. We know that players coming off long term injuries are often off the pace in the first season after a return.

Tsatas has missed a lot of footy. It seemed to me that the moment he did the meniscus, he was headed for a 14 month pre-season. If everything goes according to plan, I am sure he will be thrown a bone late in the year.

I have no issue with the way Tsatas or Cox has been managed or even with the communication. Scott has been very clear that they were going to be extremely conservative about rehabbing these kids (Reid included). You can't really put clear time frames on that. They've been open when Cox had a set back.

If Tsatas gets to the goal of 10 June and wakes up feeling sore, even if from a heavy gym session, they're going to delay the return. It's the running commentary that will make things sound out of control or unprofessional.

 

[bombreys]

No. He hurt it at training in January and we got an update from the club on the 20th of Jan saying he would be getting surgery and that they would manage the recovery conservatively. There was no recovery timeframe given at that point, they just said that it would be decided post-operatively.

Right before round 1 he was spotted on the training track, but we don't know how much work he was doing. This was about 6 weeks post-op, 7 weeks post-injury. We then promptly got another injury update which listed him as 3-4 months return to play. 3 months is exactly the bye (round 14), and 4 months is 4 weeks post-bye (round 18).

In round 5 they had 7 weeks on the injury update, which is round 12.

In round 7 they had 6 weeks on the injury update, which is round 13.

Now it's round 8 and they're telling us 5 weeks, which is round 12 again.



Blitz and Tim Watson both guessed some random number of weeks after that 20 Jan report came out, with Tim's 8 week guess giving us a Round 1 return and Blitz' 12 week guess giving about round 5. But they didn't know anything, they were just guessing based on the words "meniscus tear" what an average timeframe might be, and turned out to be quite wrong.

The problem with guessing is that a meniscus tear has multiple grades, with worse ones taking longer to heal, and it also has multiple ways of being treated, either by cutting out the torn cartilage, which used to be the only way to treat it and results in a faster return to play but also fast-tracks osteoarthritis (bone on bone in the knee joint with no cushioning – extremely painful and may require regular drainage and injections to manage it through the end of his career, which is likely to be shortened when he can't run), or they can try and stitch it back together and then rehab the whole thing, which takes way longer to heal because of poor blood flow to the area, but long term can lead to full or almost full recovery.

The latter conservative management scheme is what was done for Dylan Shiel a couple of years ago, and even with meticulous rehab and preparation for a fit senior player who is able to slot into the senior side once the injury is healed, it still took like at least 16 weeks to heal (including a small setback with a concurrent injury iirc). Like he hurt it in round 2 and didn't come back until Round 18.

In Tsatas case he's a first year player who has never even played VFL, so the chance of him coming straight in after rehabbing it is unlikely anyway (although the fact that he's been doing basic training stuff for a couple of months and back running recently is helpful in that regard, and suggests he's actually getting quite close to being deemed medically fit).

What a detailed response! Thank you. Can we employ you at Essendon so the fans can get a bit more clarity rather than the usual 'yeah he's tracking well'?

 

[Beerfish]

What a detailed response! Thank you. Can we employ you at Essendon so the fans can get a bit more clarity rather than the usual 'yeah he's tracking well'?

In all seriousness they could do a hell of a lot worse.

And do!

 

[Lore]

In all seriousness they could do a hell of a lot worse.

And do!

If the AFL and the clubs did a better job forums like this would lose a lot of traffic imo

Between training photos and observations, live observations of games for men and women seniors and seconds from people who actually understand football, more complete info on injuries and availability, info on list management, contract end dates and number of open list spots, even occasional inside information...

 

[faible]

If the AFL and the clubs did a better job forums like this would lose a lot of traffic imo

Between training photos and observations, live observations of games for men and women seniors and seconds from people who actually understand football, more complete info on injuries and availability, info on list management, contract end dates and number of open list spots, even occasional inside information...

Or would more content just give us more to discuss? Every training photo is an opportunity to disect who's doing what and why, whether wearing the red shirt instead of the black shirt means a player is in or out of the side, or about to ask for a trade.

 

[Lore]

Or would more content just give us more to discuss? Every training photo is an opportunity to disect who's doing what and why, whether wearing the red shirt instead of the black shirt means a player is in or out of the side, or about to ask for a trade.

At some point the juice isn't worth the squeeze... by which I mean people who are satisfied with what they know about the quality of training would mostly probably not care that much about the colour of the shirt.

 

[DonsRule]

 

[andleanback]

Look voss should be prohibited from any contact with tsatas for the next few weeks at least

 

[citizen-erased]

Look voss should be prohibited from any contact with tsatas for the next few weeks at least

really, any of our players

 

[DonsRule]

 

[Ati Tude]

He does have the benefit of doing that against Ess players though...

 

[LLLLLOOOOOYYYYDDD]

This draft class seems to be churning out a serviceable player every other week. The fact that Tsatas was held in the same sort of light as Wardlaw and Sheezel and early on ranked higher gives us a lot to look forward to. Hope he can remain healthy for the rest of the year and gain some experience at whatever level that may be.

 

[citizen-erased]

This draft class seems to be churning out a serviceable player every other week. The fact that Tsatas was held in the same sort of light as Wardlaw and Sheezel and early on ranked higher gives us a lot to look forward to. Hope he can remain healthy for the rest of the year and gain some experience at whatever level that may be.

trying to temper my excitement.

would be awesome to see a "In: Cox, Tsatas" week other side of the bye.
Probably the two outside the side i'm most pumped to see back at the moment.....plus 2MP