WARNING: Distressing images included in this story.
Brisbane are bracing for the confirmation that Keidean Coleman has ruptured his ACL after the star defender was subbed out of the Lions’ Opening Round clash with Carlton because of a cringe-worthy incident on the stroke of half time on Friday night.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Keidean Coleman injures left knee with gruesome hyperextension.
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The silky left-footer got his leg wrapped around the body of Carlton forward Lachie Fogarty, attempting to clear the ball out of Brisbane’s defensive 50.
Fogarty came in from the side and crashed into an unsuspecting Coleman, whose left leg appeared to hyperextend unnaturally at the knee joint.
Coleman immediately fell to the ground in pain, where he remained until trainers got him to his feet during the half time break.
Lions players got to Coleman to show their support while he lay on the ground.
He limped off the ground in the hands of the trainers, unable to bare much weight on the leg, and was immediately subbed out of the game.
Initial hopes that the injury could be a minor one seem to have been quashed, with the Brisbane medical team forecasting the worst.
“He’ll get a scan tomorrow, but at this stage it’s not looking great — it looks like an ACL,” Lions coach Chris Fagan said after the game.
“It’s not confirmed, but more than likely, that’s what we think.
“We get disappointed for all the lads who get those sorts of injuries because we know the road back is a long road back.
“It’ll create an opportunity for somebody else, which will be their good fortune.
“At this point in time, if it goes the way we think, we’re sad for ‘Kiddy’.”
It follows a wretched run with the three worst letters in sport for the Lions, who have lost Eric Hipwood, Cameron Rayner and Will Ashcroft to the dreaded ACL injury in recent year.
Before the injury, Coleman had picked up where he left off from the glittering form of his 2023 campaign.
The classy defender emerged as one of the premier half backs in the competition, and was among the best players on the ground during last year’s grand final.
Many expected Coleman to win the Norm Smith Medal if the Lions were able to get over the line against Collingwood during last year’s thrilling decider, which they eventually lost by four points.