Brisbane forward Eric Hipwood has been diagnosed with a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament, discovered during scans he had undertaken for a calf problem.
The news marks another crushing blow to the Lions’ already fragile premiership defence, coming just a day after co-captain Lachie Neale’s season was almost certainly ended by a calf strain.
In a peculiar chain of events, Hipwood was undergoing routine checks to monitor his recovery from a calf issue when the knee injury came to light.
MORE: Brisbane fear the worst as Lachie Neale exits final early with injury
What makes the situation even stranger is that no one is certain how long the 27-year-old has been playing with the ligament damage, raising fresh questions about the challenges he has been battling behind the scenes.
Comeback plans in doubt
The discovery places serious doubt over Hipwood’s chances of returning before season’s end. He has not featured since Brisbane’s Round 23 victory over Fremantle, and his path back to action is now clouded with uncertainty.
Scans have confirmed Eric Hipwood has a partial tear of his ACL in yet another blow to the Lions' premiership defence. In a curious series of events, the forward went for an unrelated scan as he tries to overcome a calf injury, and the partial tear was revealed. It's unclear how…
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) September 6, 2025
SEN journalist Sam Edmund reported on Crunchtime: “Scans have confirmed Eric Hipwood has a partial tear of his ACL in yet another blow to the Lions' premiership defence … It's unclear how long Hipwood had been playing with the tear for.”
Meanwhile, Neale is awaiting confirmation on the extent of his own injury after straining his calf in his first game back from a quad problem. Between the captaincy blow and Hipwood’s shock setback, Brisbane’s September hopes are hanging by a thread.