Mitta United sharpshooter Ethan Redcliffe cleared of fractured ankle but set to miss several weeks

The Mitta United livewire suffered the injury early in the second quarter against Barnawartha over the weekend.

Play was held up for more than five minutes as trainers had to assist Redcliffe from the ground.

Redcliffe attended Wodonga hospital late Saturday afternoon where X-rays cleared him of a fracture.

However, Redcliffe will have scans later this week to determine the extent of any ligament or tendon damage and gain a clearer insight into how many matches he is likely to miss.

"I just went up for a mark and fell to the ground and then my opponent landed and stepped on my ankle with his studs," Redcliffe said.

"It's not broken but I have to have further scans to see how much damage there is.

"I was in a fair bit of pain and they had to stop the game for a while.

"I went and had some X-rays but have been cleared of a fracture.

"I can put a little bit of weight on it at the moment but no doubt I will be on the sidelines for a while."

Redcliffe joins Morris medallist Jarrod Hodgkin (shoulder) on the sidelines and Louis Miller, Jett Smith alongside several others as a mounting injury toll has sent the Blues' season into freefall.

Barton medallist Nathan Reynoldson was forced to fill in on the weekend and is in his early 40s to highlight how depleted the Mountain Men have become.

The one shining light has been the form of Redcliffe who leads the goalkicking title with 52 majors and is on target to crack the magical 100-goal milestone.

However, the sharpshooter could face an uphill battle to crack the ton depending on how long he is sidelined.

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Redcliffe said it had been an eye-opener how much he is verbally targeted by the opposition and crowd.

"For some reason everybody in the TDFL seems to love giving it to me verbally each weekend," he said.

"I just try to block it out and let my footy do the talking.

"But it does get inside your head sometimes and I'm still learning how best to deal with it."

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