Richmond defender David Astbury is unlikely to be available for the Tigers’ Round 1 match against Carlton next Thursday night, after being stung by a stingray while doing recovery at a bayside beach on Wednesday.

Astbury underwent minor surgery today to clean the wound in his left foot, which was pierced by the stingray barb.

“While you can imagine there has been a bit of banter between Dave and his teammates about his luck or lack thereof, this is a reasonably serious and extremely painful injury,” said Richmond’s General Manager of Football, Dan Richardson.

“However, we expect Dave will recover quickly and be ready for selection in the early rounds of the season.”

The 24-year-old defender has played 37 games for Richmond, and has not played an official AFL game since injuring his knee against Melbourne in Round 9, 2014.