Martin had a massage on the bench and attempted to return before putting his hand up to be subbed out of the game for, what his coach Adem Yze guessed, was the first time.
“He just seized up. He tried to go back out there for one more rotation, and he was just battling, so it was pointless. We had a fresh guy who could come back on,” Yze said.
Injured Dustin Martin leaves the field with Noah Balta and their Richmond teammates.Credit: Getty Images
“It’s a six-day break [before Fremantle] and he obviously had some spasms in his back today, and we’ll see how that pulls up. He’ll have a day off.”
Yze had flagged last week that Martin might not travel to Perth given the short break and the fixture, which sees Richmond have travelling outside Victoria twice off six-day breaks in their first four matches after the bye.
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“Our hand might be dealt anyway, but we will make that decision. If he bounces his way out of the game OK, there is no reason why he can’t play against Freo, but we have to have those discussions,” Yze said.
Yze said the injury was not a lingering issue.
He hoped Dion Prestia may return but was sceptical about the chances of Tom Lynch being available.
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