Concern has flooded through the Brisbane camp over star midfielder Lachie Neale's calf injury, with fears it could be curtains on his 2025 season.
Neale returned from a quad injury for Friday night's qualifying final against Geelong, albeit it was to no avail.
The Cats were scintillating from start to finish and were worthy winners to subsequently book themselves a spot in the penultimate week.
The Lions, like last year, will need to do it the hard way, but it could be without Neale and now key forward Eric Hipwood, who has reportedly suffered a partial tear in his ACL.
The two-time Brownlow medallist came from the ground after he pulled up short in the final term, once the game was dead and buried.
Onlookers could see Neale in tremendous pain, and he attempted to disguise himself among the congestion, but ultimately stayed away from the contest.
Lachie Neale has come from the ground following this passage of play.#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/u4V6CIApuz
— AFL (@AFL) September 5, 2025
He limped toward the boundary line before coming to the bench, looking dejected and hurt.
"Looks like he's done a calf," Fagan said following the 38-point loss.
"So, that's not a good thing. He's a pretty tough sort of guy. He can usually play through those, but he couldn't.
"It takes a lot for him to come off, so I suspect something significant."
"It takes a lot for him to come off so I suspect it's something significant."
Chris Fagan on Lachie Neale's injury.#AFLFinals pic.twitter.com/Mgknzv0y56
— AFL (@AFL) September 5, 2025
"I'm not expecting great news."
SEN's Sam Edmund reported on Saturday morning that Hipwood, who was already in doubt to feature in September with a calf injury, will now officially miss all of September action too, after scans revealed that he had suffered a partial tear in his ACL.
Hipwood's scans did not intend to identify the tear, instead looking into his calf concern, meaning it's likely the 2024 premiership star has been playing with the injury for some time. Edmund stated, however, it is unclear how long the 26-year-old has been playing through the injury.
Scans have confirmed Eric Hipwood has a partial tear of his ACL in yet another blow to the Lions' premiership defence. In a curious series of events, the forward went for an unrelated scan as he tries to overcome a calf injury, and the partial tear was revealed. It's unclear how…
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) September 6, 2025
Fagan hadn't even begun thinking about what the side would look like without Neale, and its premiership chances.
"Do I think we can win the premiership (without Neale)? God, I haven't even thought about that," he added.
"I am just worried about trying to win a game next week, so I will probably stay neutral on the answer to that question. I don't know.
"He's obviously a great player, so obviously he helps, and we've got quite a few other guys injured as well, not playing.
"Whether that adds up to too many injuries and makes (winning the premiership) too difficult, I am not sure.
"We'll continue to play with spirit, we'll continue to go at the game and get out there next week and try to deliver a better performance than we delivered tonight."
The Lions will live to fight another day despite the disappointing defeat.
