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Ben Cousins' highly anticipated footy comeback is over before it started after the West Coast Eagles great confirmed he is having knee surgery.
Speaking on Mix 94.5 FM in Perth, the decorated midfielder confirmed he won't feature for the Legends against the All Stars at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
'I stepped up my training in preparation, and unfortunately I've done myself a mischief,' Cousins told listeners.
'Disappointed, but yeah, I've hurt my knee....I've never had an operation on my knee.
'I'm going to need some surgery at some point, unfortunately.'
Cousins - who recently had a hernia operation - also confirmed his preparation wasn't what he wanted it to be.
Ben Cousins' highly anticipated footy comeback is on ice after the West Coast Eagles great (pictured) confirmed he is having knee surgery
Speaking on Mix 94.5 in Perth, the decorated midfielder confirmed he won't feature for the Legends against the All Stars at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Thursday night
'I hadn't been doing much running at all....so, in a short space of time, I had to ramp it up pretty quickly if I was going to be out running and going to kick.
'It (body) was quite sore the last week (or so). I've since had scans and realised I'm getting old.'
Earlier this month Cousins said he was looking forward to playing alongside fellow greats such as Nick Riewoldt and former Hawthorn superstar Cyril Rioli.
'It's a big thing; he (Rioli) was such a great player,' he said.
'To see him run around and have a kick is so exciting and I'm looking forward to handpassing to him or getting one off him!'
Cousins – who is also working for Channel Seven in Perth – has kept himself in great shape since he was released from jail in 2019 after several stints behind bars.
His battles with addiction have been well-documented since they became public in 2007 following a series of off–field incidents, including arrests and suspensions.
He was suspended from the AFL in 2007 and returned in 2009 to play two seasons with Richmond before retiring.
Earlier this month Cousins said he was looking forward to playing alongside fellow greats such as Nick Riewoldt and former Hawthorn superstar Cyril Rioli (pictured)
Both the Victoria and All Stars squads are stacked with talent, with ex-Essendon captain Jobe Watson a late call-up for the locals.
His father Tim Watson will coach Victoria.
Some of Watson's teammates include Gary Ablett Jnr, Luke Hodge and Dane Swan, while the All Stars feature crowd pleasers Andrew McLeod and Nick Davis.
The return of the marquee clash on the AFL calendar follows a six-year hiatus, with funds raised to help support patient care and research collaborations at the Australian Prostate Centre.
The exhibition match was first staged in 1996 to honour Australian football legend EJ Whitten, who died from prostate cancer the previous August.
Team Victoria
Tim Watson (coach), Luke Hodge (C), Gary Ablett Jnr, Brendan Fevola, Dane Swan, Tommy Sheridan, Steve Johnson, Luke Shuey, Campbell Brown, Brent Harvey, Bob Murphy, Dave Hughes, Stephen Milne, Chris Johnson, Paul Dimmatina, Brett Deledio, Dylan Buckley, Travis Cloke, Luke Ball, Heath Scotland, Easton Wood, Luke Dahlhaus, Jordan Roughead, Josh Gibson, Brad Sewell, James Frawley, Michael Hurley
All Stars
Shane Crawford (coach), Nick Riewoldt (C), Cyril Rioli, Daniel Gorringe, Adam Cooney, Isaac Smith, Andrew McLeod, Andrew Embley, Kate McCarthy, Ollie Geale, Erin Phillips, Nick Cody, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Nick Davis, Zach Tuohy, Tom Rockliff, Nick Daffy, Jeff Farmer, Travis Varcoe, Matt Shirvington, Prime Train, Joel Patfull, Danny Southern, Paul Puopolo, Mitch Robinson, Chad Cornes, Steve Hooker
