Tom De Koning suffers collapsed lung and foot fracture against North Melbourne

Carlton has taken a hit in the run to the finals with ruckman Tom De Koning set to miss the rest of the home-and-away season after suffering a collapsed lung and a foot fracture in Sunday’s win over North Melbourne.

De Koning, whose fracture was caused by his foot being stepped on early in the match, copped a hit from Kangaroos ruckman Tristan Xerri during the last quarter.

He tried to play on after a chat with club medical staff and took two more ruck contests before being taken from the field for the rest of the game and reporting breathing issues.

Subsequent tests revealed the internal issue and he was sent to hospital for treatment. The foot fracture was also confirmed, ruling him out until at least the start of the finals in a blow for the second-placed Blues.

“As tough as the news is for Tom, first and foremost we are pleased he is feeling OK and recovering following his treatment in hospital overnight,” Carlton general manager of football Brad Lloyd said.

“Tom reported symptoms of being unwell within half an hour of the game finishing, so the priority for us was immediately ensuring he got the treatment he needed and he is now recovering with the appropriate care around him.

“Tom will undergo surgery this week to correct his foot injury, which we expect will sideline him for the remainder of the home-and-away season, and we will continue to monitor his recovery over that period of time.”

Marc Pittonet looms as his replacement.

But while De Koning could be sidelined for the immediate future, Carlton forward Harry McKay has been cleared of any issues amid criticism of the club’s handling of an incident in which the goalkicker seemed dazed following a heavy collision.

Blues coach Michael Voss defended the actions of the club’s medical staff who took minutes before attending to McKay, who kicked a goal before eventually being taken from the field for an assessment.

He was cleared to return, had no issues post match and on Monday was again found to have no issues after more testing and is set to take his place in Friday’s clash with Port.

Several pundits were stinging of Carlton’s handling of the situation, but Voss was adamant the protocols were followed and McKay “got the care he needed”.

“I couldn’t speak to specifics of the time, but what I do know is the protocol was there and we got notified that we needed to get him off the ground,” Voss said.

“He came off the ground, went into the protocols and fortunately he was able to respond and be OK. He was able to keep the game going.

“The downside was we had to hold our tactical sub to work out whether we needed to change Harry or not. That’s a different discussion maybe in time but certainly not today. I feel like we followed what we needed to and Harry got the care he needed.”

Meanwhile, star wingman Blake Acres has been sent for scans.

Acres was subbed out of the win over North Melbourne with what Voss said were “ bumps and bruises” but would now need to be cleared to play against Port.

“He was hobbling around a bit with a couple of bumps and bruises he was battling with and probably wasn’t moving as well,” Voss said.

“He was keen to go on, but we just felt we had some fresh legs, so once we knew Harry was OK, we could go with something different.”