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AAP
AAP
Steve Larkin

Injured Port Adelaide trio ruled out for season

Port's Sam Powell-Pepper requires a knee reconstruction for the second time in 15 months. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

Injured Port Adelaide trio Sam Powell-Pepper, Esava Ratugolea and Dante Visentini have been ruled out for the rest of the AFL season.

Powell-Pepper requires a knee reconstruction, Ratugolea will be sidelined by a hamstring tear and young ruckman Visentini by an ankle injury.

The Power players were all hurt in a loss to Brisbane that ruled out Ken Hinkley's chances of reaching the finals in his last season as coach.

"Three very loved guys," Port assistant coach Tyson Goldsack told reporters on Monday.

"For Pep to go down, it's kind of heartbreaking for him.

"Considering the work he put him to come back, and then how he was playing as well on top of that.

"And Sav (Ratugolea) is in the same boat, had a really good year for us, started to play with a lot of confidence.

"Then Viz as well ... a loss to Brisbane up there is bad enough, and then to have the three injuries as well, it's a pretty dark weekend."

Port
Port players react after a loss to Brisbane that ended their chances of reaching the finals. (Darren England/AAP PHOTOS)

Powell-Pepper will have surgery on his left knee, after suffering the same injury to his right knee in round eight last year.

"(He was) really emotional to start with, I'm talking Saturday night," Goldsack said.

"As the night kind of wore on, he was coming to terms with it.

"He's going to have some struggles over the next 12 months.

"Now, as hard as it is, it's probably not the hardest time - the hardest time is when you when you have to work back through the process to get back and get fit again.

pp
Sam Powell-Pepper with Esava Ratugolea (right) after the round-15 loss to Sydney. (Matt Turner/AAP PHOTOS)

"As hard as this is to take now, he'll have some some more struggles along the journey, which he knows about.

"He's just been through it so it's still pretty fresh but he's got a young family that I'm sure will keep him busy."

Powell-Pepper and his wife Brya last week celebrated the birth of their third child.

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