Charlie Curnow, the standout forward for Carlton, will start the AFL preseason later than expected since he had surgery to fix the ankle injury that ended his 2024 season.

Curnow battled a left ankle issue in the latter part of the home-and-away season before hobbling off the pitch in round 22’s crushing loss to Hawthorn.

As the Blues collapsed out of the premiership race, the two-time Coleman Medal winner missed the remaining two regular-season games and was not eligible for the elimination final against Brisbane.

Curnow will resume preseason training on a limited schedule due to an upcoming surgery.

The Blues released a statement on Friday saying, “(Curnow) will undergo surgery to correct an ankle injury and will work through his rehabilitation over the off-season.”

“(He) is expected to begin to integrate back into the training program when pre-season resumes in December.”

Corey Durdin, a teammate, is scheduled to undergo surgery for his injured shoulder and is anticipated to resume contact training by January.

The information is released as Carlton confirms that five players were removed from the list, including gifted forward Jack Martin.

After our 2024 season concludes, we can confirm five list adjustments.We appreciate the dedication shown by all five athletes while they were in Navy Blue.? Assemble FC (@CarltonFC) Thirteen September 2024

Additionally let go are David Cuningham, Caleb Marchbank, Alex Mirkov, and Dom Akuei.

Martin, a 2012 priority draft choice by Gold Coast, was a highly visible addition to the Blues towards the end of 2019.

But after dealing with a variety of injuries, the 29-year-old was limited to just 54 appearances over five seasons, including three this year.

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