Adelaide Crows skipper Rory Sloane is expected to miss six weeks after fracturing his hand in Saturday's loss to West Coast.
The gun midfielder will undergo surgery in the coming days on his left hand.
"The latter stages of rehabilitation will be based on the return of function of Rory's thumb rather than a specific time frame," Crows head of science and medicine Steve Saunders told the club website.
"Rory will see a specialist on Monday and undergo surgery in the coming days."
It's a major blow for the club following their disappointing 0-6 start to the season.
In other injury news, Crows duo Taylor Walker (knee) and Darcy Fogarty (shoulder) are hoping to return for next Monday's clash with St Kilda.
