Tom Liberatore's latest stint on the sidelines due to concussion has taken a new turn, with the Western Bulldogs deciding to send him in for knee surgery.
The 33-year-old suffered a head knock in the Bulldogs' loss to Geelong in Round 6 and has continued to manage symptoms. With no clear timeline for his return, it has now been revealed that he will undergo surgery to fix a knee injury sustained in the same match.
"Tom Liberatore has suffered some low-level but persistent symptoms related to damaged cartilage in his knee since the Round 6 game against Geelong," the Bulldogs said in a statement on Friday.
"With Tom currently remaining within the concussion protocols from a head knock sustained in the same game, the club has decided to be proactive and manage this issue with a minor arthroscopic surgical intervention."
"The club will update his return-to-play plan in due course."
Liberatore has a history of both concussions and knee problems. He missed the entire 2015 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee and suffered the same injury to his right knee in Round 1 of 2018.
Earlier this week, Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge gave no indication of any knee concerns when discussing Liberatore's concussion recovery.
"Once you see him and you know he's got through a main training session, then he'll probably be right to play," Beveridge said.
"That hasn't happened, so over the next week or two we can hopefully get him there, but for the moment he won't be playing this week."
Beveridge confirmed the cautious approach was due to "a little bit of both" his ongoing symptoms and concussion history.
"He's sleeping OK, hasn't really got any headaches, but sometimes it's a bit hard to concentrate after head knocks."
Liberatore suffered multiple high-profile concussions in 2024 but never needed to fight for his career in front of the league's expert panel. Beveridge reiterated last week that this remains the case, but flagged that the club would take no risks under its "conservative" approach to head knocks.
Liberatore's concussion occurred in his first game back from a hamstring injury.
