Richmond midfielder Nathan Drummond will make his long-awaited return to the football field this weekend.
After 13 months on the sidelines, Drummond will line-up for the Tigers' VFL side as it vies for the Sir Doug Nicholls Cup at Punt Road Oval this Saturday.
Drummond’s long-awaited return, which will be against Essendon in Round 8 of the VFL competition, comes at a special time for the Shepparton product.
He is a relative of Sir Doug Nicholls, whom this year’s AFL Indigenous Round is named in honour of.
Drummond was drafted to Richmond in 2014 but his AFL debut was cut painfully short in Round 4 last year, when he tore his ACL.
His long rehabilitation process included countless sessions working closely with Richmond's medical team and a trip to America to work with one of the world’s leading knee specialists in late 2015.
In other changes, Richmond VFL captain Sam Darley is a key omission from the side for the Round 8 clash.
Darley has been selected to represent the VFL State squad this Sunday.
The Victorian side will travel to Adelaide Oval to take on SANFL West End State Team.
While Darley will leave a void across the backline, Jayden Short, who returns from senior duties, will add strength to the forward line.
Saturday’s match starts at 4pm, gates open at 3pm. A pre-game ceremony, featuring a war cry, Welcome to Country and guard of honour, will begin at 3:48pm.
Free entry for Richmond members
$10 adults, $5 concession, children under-15 are free
Food and drink will be available
Round 8 VFL squad
B: Gale, Elton, C. Moore
HB: Broad, Drummond, Castagna
C: A. Moore, Townsend, Markov
HF: Short, Marcon, Ballard
F: Bathie, McBean, Chol
R: Maric, R. Conca, Mellington
Int: Coffield*, Langford, K. Williams, A. Morris, Aarts, Scott, Silvestro, Soldo, Butler
*denotes 23rd player
