Essendon first-round draft pick Nate Caddy left the Bombers’ VFL clash with Sandringham for hospital on Sunday after losing his tooth in a sickening clash with teammate Sam Weideman in the opening minutes of the game.
The 18-year-old was the meat in a marking contest sandwich that saw him collide with the back of Weideman’s head, dislodging one of his teeth.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nate Caddy loses a tooth in painful VFL clash.
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Slow-mo replays showed Caddy collapsing to the ground while the tooth visibly fell on its own trajectory.
He was taken off in the hands of Essendon medical staff while blood poured from his mouth.
But the tooth was left out on the field, until a Bombers trainer went back out and retrieved it.
The quick-thinking staff member then took the tooth to a coffee truck on the other side of the ground to put it in a glass of milk as quickly as possible.
When a tooth dislodges from its socket, it’s important to keep it moist to increase the likelihood of saving the tooth. Milk has vital proteins and sugars that make it perfect for a dental emergency.
Weideman, meantime, played out the rest of the game with a bandage over his head after sustaining a cut from the incident, which will require stitches.
Still wearing his entire playing kit, Caddy was pictured walking through the VFL crowd at Trevor Barker Oval in Sandringham to get to the exit.
The exciting forward was drafted with pick 10 by the Bombers in last year’s draft but is yet to make his AFL debut.
Given the incident happened so early in the game, Caddy had not yet registered a statistic.
And the Bombers missed their prized recruit, as they went down to the Zebras 115-77.
The youngster kicked two goals and a behind in his first game in the red and black against the Brisbane Lions’ VFL team last week.
Caddy was sidelined for parts of his first pre-season at AFL level as the club gradually eased him into the full workload.
He kicked 25 goals from nine games for the Northern Knights in the Coates Talent League last year.
