Jeremy McGovern’s extraordinary AFL career set to be ended within days
Jeremy McGovern’s extraordinary AFL career is set to come to an end within days.
The 33-year-old has been sidelined since being knocked out in a game almost seven weeks ago, having failed to progress through the league’s return-to-play protocols.
The situation escalated last week when the 2018 premiership player faced the league’s concussion panel.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.A determination on his future in football is expected by the end of the week or perhaps early next week, according to 7NEWS Perth’s Ryan Daniels.
“Look, I’ve thought this the whole way through — I think it’s unlikely we see Jeremy McGovern play footy again,” he said on Triple M.
“I think we’d all love to see him but health is paramount and I think we all want that to be the main focus here, and I think he does too.
“Jeremy wants to play footy — of course he does, he’s a competitor and he’s one of the greats of the West Coast Eagles football club.
“I think we’re now heading into a space that it’s unlikely he plays footy again.”
James Brayshaw added: “That would be a shame with the quality that he is.”
McGovern was a shining light for West Coast last year, winning his first club best and fairest.
He also claimed his fifth AFL All Australian blazer — five years after last being named to the elite team.
Eagles coach Andrew McQualter praised McGovern for his selfless response to the concussion situation last month.
“Gov’s one of our leaders, and he’s still one of our terrific leaders,” McQualter said.
“He’s been involved all week in our leadership meetings and our meetings in general.
“We understand it’s a challenging time. But Gov’s been doing this for a long time.
“He’s a very mature guy. He’s got a great family and network around him as well.”
McGovern is set to retire with 197 games to his name, including a 2018 grand final performance that will go down in Eagles history.
The defender suffered internal bleeding following a corkie in the preliminary final and spent time in hospital, barely training before the MCG decider.
Yet there he was with minutes remaining on the last Saturday in September.
McGovern took the mark that propelled West Coast from the wrong end of the ground, leading to Dom Sheed’s famous match-winning goal.
Originally published on 7NEWS Sport
