Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley has confirmed that veteran Travis Boak will miss for the second consecutive week through injury.
Boak was progressing positively through his back issue that has kept him from the senior side since Round 5, but remains "bullish" on his return in the short term.
The Power will travel to Ballarat to take on the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
"He's not ready to play this week," Hinkley told reporters on Wednesday.
"He has had some more stuff done this week. I spoke to him this morning, actually, he's quite bullish about how he feels this morning.
"So hopefully that continues on and he's not too far away from being available in the near future."
With Boak not coming in, Hinkley will be forced into at least one change, with dashing defender Josh Sinn ruled out with a concussion.
Sinn was on the receiving end of a tackle from North Melbourne's Paul Curtis, who received a three-week suspension that was subsequently upheld at the Tribunal on Tuesday.
Hinkley felt for Curtis, saying that he "normally" wouldn't see a ban handed down to the tackler.
"My personal view is this is an unfortunate suspension that I would normally think is not a suspension," Hinkley said.
"But my educated view would say I am not at all surprised it is a suspension in today's world.
"It is a change in landscape around concussion, injury and all that goes with it. This is very unfortunate because Curtis did not do too much wrong. But I understand the consequences of concussion these days.
"You are allowed to tackle - but you need to tackle with care. You have to make sure your tackle does not cause injury."
"If it is reportable, the fact he was concussed, that's three matches. If it's not deemed a reportable offence, it's a zero."
Is three weeks too many for a tackle like this? pic.twitter.com/DhVEl6G15V
โ 7AFL (@7AFL) April 27, 2025
Sinn's replacement could come in many forms, with Jase Burgoyne having played in the defensive role before, while Logan Evans and Ryan Burton could also be brought in to bolster the back half.
"We have some really good options," Hinkley said.
"We are pretty lucky in that area of the ground. It will be interesting where we go (at selection)."
