North Melbourne young gun George Wardlaw’s out for 10-12 weeks with a hamstring injury

North Melbourne confirmed the worst news for young gun George Wardlaw who is set to miss 10-12 weeks including at least the first month of the AFL season with a hamstring injury.

After vice-captain Harry Sheezel said he was “shattered” by the injury to his teammate 45 days out from their round 1 clash as 20-year-old Wardlaw was sent for scans, the results delivered the horror news.

“This is obviously disappointing for George as he has been very diligent with his physical conditioning since he’s been at the club,” general manager of football Todd Viney said.

“While there are a lot of variables at play with his recovery, George is an extremely diligent and professional athlete and we know he will be ticking every box in his rehabilitation to be back as soon as possible.”

Wardlaw suffered the hamstring injury during a match simulation on Wednesday.

North Melbourne takes on the Western Bulldogs on March 15 in their opening fixture of the season and Sheezel, the 2023 rising star winner who will be vice-captain of the Kangaroos this season, said Wardlaw had “worked so hard to get his body right”.

“I’m shattered for George, I’m not too sure of the extent of it,” he said.

“We’ll see how bad it is but I’m shattered for him and we’ll wrap our arms around him.

“He’s worked so hard on his body the last few years to get it right so if this is a bit of a setback it will be hard for him.

“He was so fit and firing and ready to go and hopefully he will still be able to show that this year.”

Assistant coach Leigh Adams said Wardlaw’s resilience would be tested.

“He’s done 90 per cent of the pre-season, he’s been really fit and strong … it’s a shame he’ll probably miss some footy,” he said.

“The one thing I do know about George is that he’s really resilient and he’s been through it a few times now so he will do his rehab really diligently and make sure he gets himself nice and strong and fit and ready to go.”