SAD NEWS: Geelong Cats star is FORCED to AMPUTATE after nasty injury

AFL star Tom Hawkins has revealed that he might be forced to amputate his toe due to a lingering injury.

The Geelong Cats veteran has been sidelined since June with an injury to his left foot, though he remains hopeful of returning in time for the finals.

This isn’t the first time Hawkins has dealt with a foot issue. In 2022, he suffered a similar but unrelated injury, which required surgery that resulted in his toe being shortened by 8mm.

The toe injury resurfaced in 2023, and three specialists suggested amputation as a possible solution, indicating that Tom Hawkins would only need to miss two or three weeks of football.

At 36, Hawkins opted against removing his toe but mentioned in an interview with the *Herald Sun* that he might reconsider if the issue flares up again.

“There is still the possibility that if it flares up and annoys me, I can lob it off. It is functional but it probably works at about 40 percent,” he said.

“Touch wood it continues to be healthy. But there is always the possibility that it needs to come off.”

Hawkins, a one-club man who has played a record 359 games for the Cats, plans to retire at the end of the season to spend more time with his wife, Emma, and their three children.

After Tom Hawkins announced his retirement earlier this week, Geelong football boss Andrew Mackie, who was Hawkins’ teammate for more than a decade, described the star forward as a “generational player.”

“Tom has been an incredible presence both on and off the field at Geelong for the past 18 years, with his ability to play consistently at an elite level, along with humility and care for his teammates, being the trademarks of his career,” Mackie said.

“He is a generational player who will rightly be celebrated for his achievements on the field, as well as the role he has played in shaping our club into what it is today.

“We thank Tom, his wife Emma, and their children Arabella, Primrose, and Henry for all they’ve given to our club.”

Hawkins was a key player in Geelong’s 2009 premiership, during his third season, where he kicked a controversial goal that appeared to brush the post but was crucial in the Cats’ victory over St Kilda.

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