Port Adelaide are set to be without midfielder Ollie Wines for the coming week, while Melbourne have received mixed news ahead of their clash with the Crows.
Demons star Steven May will need to prove his fitness later this week to be cleared to return from multiple broken ribs sustained in Round 2 against Hawthorn.
His potential return comes as fellow backman Marty Hore faces up to a month on the sidelines with a thumb injury.
Hore suffered a thumb fracture in Saturday night's win over the Power and will require surgery on the ailment.
“Following some imagery, scans have shown that he's suffered a fracture to his thumb that requires surgery,” Demons high performance manager Selwyn Griffith told Melbourne Media.
“It's disappointing for Marty because he's played a great role for us over the last few weeks, but hopefully he'll only miss the next two games and look to be available as we come into our ANZAC Day Eve game.”
The Demons should have wingman Lachie Hunter available for selection this week, with the former Bulldog overcoming a pre-season calf issue, while defender Dan Turner also eyeing a return over the coming weeks follow a hip problem.
Melbourne forward Kade Chandler is dealing with knee soreness and remains a test for this Thursday's clash with Adelaide.
“To give him the most amount of time for preparation for the Adelaide game, we chose to keep him away from the main group's training session,” Griffith said of Chandler.
“We'll continue to assess him day-to-day and hopefully Kade will be available for selection for this week's game.”
Elsewhere, Port Adelaide are set to welcome back Jason Horne-Francis from a hamstring injury the same week they lost the aforementioned Wines to the same ailment.
The club confirmed on Tuesday that Wines has suffered a hamstring issue and won't face Essendon on Friday night at Adelaide Oval.
Horne-Francis was able to complete training this week and will be ready for the Gather Round encounter after missing the past two matches with a hamstring injury of his own.
