A much-loved Coutas teenager will spend the “next few days” in hospital after a significant injury suffered in the win over Anglesea.
The 17 year old was on the receiving end of a hip and shoulder during a contest, and was taken to hospital before the game finished.
Coutas coach Rory Nicol said Bowtell was feeling positive despite the significance of the injury and a slight complication in hospital overnight.
“He’s a tough bugger, he wanted to sit on the bench and watch the rest of the game,” he said.
“The medical staff had to pull his dad aside and say ‘can you please talk some sense into him and get him out of here’, he wanted to watch us get the win.
“They tried to let it fix itself overnight but that didn’t work as well as they would’ve liked, so they put a tube in there to get it going again.
“He’ll be fine, he was sending us photos, he still reckons he’s playing next week.”
Bowtell is a member of the Geelong Falcons, and has played 24 senior games for Queenscliff in the past two seasons, missing just one game since his debut.
Nichol said the doctors indicated it would be roughly a six-week injury, but there was no rush in getting him back.
Football BFL: Anglesea v Queenscliff
Anglesea 1 Jordan Keras grabs Queenscliff 57 Sol Bowtell
Picture: Mark Wilson
“I have no idea what it means for his footy at this stage but it doesn’t really matter, we’re more worried about his health,” he said.
“He’s a popular kid down at the club, he’s a bit of a cult figure so we’re all pretty excited to see him back down whenever he does recover and can come back.
“His dad was saying footy is the last thing to focus on, but Sol will want to get back out there.”
Queenscliff defeated Anglesea 13.10 (88) to 11.11 (77).