The club confirmed Dangerfield was taken to hospital “as a precaution for further assessment” despite playing the rest of the game. The star was transported in an ambulance according to the ABC.

“He got that knock and he just progressively seized up more and more to the point where, he’s a warrior, but it looked to us like he couldn’t move,” coach Chris Scott said.

“He said that he wanted to keep trying, but it was clear he just couldn’t have an impact on the game from pretty early in the second quarter.

“Our medical staff are brilliant and they will be providing the best care possible.

“I could say that it’s a back spasm or something like that, but the honest answer is I don’t know.”

It was Dangerfield’s first game back after a hamstring injury in round eight.

Geelong also lost young midfielder Tanner Bruhn to a shoulder problem but more worrying is the club’s record of 6-7 this season.

The Cats left the door open in the final quarter, conceding seven unanswered goals.

“The pattern has been ‘get a couple back, lose a couple’,” Scott said.

“It’s not an excuse, but there is a really strong correlation around the competition at the moment that teams who have good availability and good cohesion (are winning).

“We were case in point last year, we were going OK and we found a way to win some games and when we got them all back and they played together week after week we hit our straps.

“We’re optimistic that can happen again.”

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