HAMSTRUNG Cobden footballer Daniel Watson is preparing for another lengthy stint on the sidelines.
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The Bombers assistant coach will receive scan results on Tuesday which will confirm the severity of his latest injury setback.
Watson, 24, was hurt in Cobden's round one Hampden league loss to Warrnambool on Saturday.
"I am pretty disappointed to be honest," he said.
"It didn't feel great. I think it's the 12th one I've done. I kind of knew it wasn't great.
"My physio was thinking it was a high grade two and the timeframe would be six to eight weeks.
"I got the scan to see if it's in the tendon or not. If it's in the tendon, it will be eight to 12.
"It is still sore today which isn't a great sign. I am hoping six to eight but who knows."
Watson has endured a frustrating battle with hamstring strains which have restricted his football career.
The midfielder played for Geelong Falcons in the then-TAC Cup before joining VFL club Northern Blues as a teeanger.
"My first one was when I was at Northern Blues and it was just a minor one but then it ended up happening around four times that year," Watson said.
"That's kind of why I left, I couldn't get over those injuries. Since then it's kind of snowballed into this chronic injury.
"From October last year until now I was going up and seeing a hamstring specialist and doing a hamstring-specific program and then on the weekend it didn't hold up which is really frustrating and disappointing."
The university student, who has almost completed a teaching degree, said it was hard to identify one reason why he was susceptible to hamstring injuries.
"When I was at Northern, the rehab was pretty strong but then maybe when I left the rehab wasn't as good as it could've been and now there's a lot of scar tissue involved," Watson said.
The Melbourne-based player's recent spate of strains and tears meant he knew straight away he'd done damage at Reid Oval on Saturday.
"I was swapping forward and was at full-forward and the ball came in and it was kicked in short and I had to try and sprint to spoil the ball," he said.
"When I jumped up and landed I knew straight away it wasn't a little one. I iced it up from there."
Watson plans to put his time on the sidelines to good use.
He will take on a more significant role with Cobden's midfield group, starting against North Warrnambool Eagles on Saturday night.
"Coaching is something I want to pursue long-term and this has been the first step into it and I have really loved it, being able to try and mould certain players and the game plan that I believe works and what (new coach) Adam (Courtney) thinks as well," Watson said.
"I guess now I will have more of a focus on that and when I get back hopefully I will be more grounded with coaching and it will help long-term."
The Bombers, who were missing up to half their best 21 in round one, will also be without Zac Green (concussion) against the Eagles.
"We are depleted at the moment. I feel sorry for Adam, he's come in and we have 13 out at the moment," Watson said.
"I think if you take 13 players out of any team in the league they would really struggle."
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