Ben Cousins in hospital Jon Ralph From: Herald Sun March 12, 2010 RICHMOND says it expects Ben Cousins will be fit and ready to front up in Round 1 despite the abdominal pain that kept him in hospital overnight.
Tigers veteran Cousins will miss Saturday's key warm-up clash against Essendon, with yesterday's tests inconclusive.
The Tigers are confident Cousins will have no lingering issues but the pain was serious enough for him to endure a day of tests at Epworth Hospital.
After suffering pain late on Wednesday he consulted with a club doctor and was admitted to hospital yesterday.
After fasting yesterday, he will have more tests this morning.
Cousins will go into Round 1 short of match practice after missing the Tigers' past two hit-outs, but the club is confident he has enough match fitness to tackle the Blues.
Last year he went into Round 1 after a modified pre-season and famously tore his hamstring after experiencing tightness during the game.
He was named yesterday for the club's Morwell clash against the Bombers before football manager Craig Cameron conceded he was likely to miss the clash.
"It is doubtful that Ben will play against Essendon in the NAB Challenge match in Morwell on Saturday," he said.
"Ben will stay in overnight for observation and will undergo some tests in the morning after he has fasted.
"Ben's condition does not appear serious but as a precautionary measure we would like some tests done to see what the problem is."
While the Tigers are hopeful their midfield champ has only an appendix problem or something similar, the timing is not ideal for the 31-year-old.
He played 15 mostly excellent games last year but three times was forced from the line-up through injury and concussion.
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said last night he believed Cousins would quickly recover.
"He just had abdominal pain and they went to get some tests. He has been put in hospital overnight mainly because he has to fast for more tests."
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