Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard has been ruled out of the Magpies' clash with Geelong on Thursday night.
He is also in a race against time to feature again in the home and away season, set to miss three to four weeks as he undergoes minor surgery on his left leg, which he injured in the victory over Adelaide.
"It's quite a unique one that the medical team haven't seen too many of these things so the plan is three to four weeks post procedure, he'll be right. If he doesn't have the procedure it's probably going to be three to four weeks as well so we're going down the route of managing things we can control," coach Craig McRae said on Tuesday.
Jordan De Goey is also in doubt with illness off the back of a strong block of form culminating in his 200th game last Thursday night.
Maynard's leg injury follows a shoulder dislocation against Melbourne, though he missed just two games and has been playing with his shoulder heavily strapped since.
The defender has been co-captaining the Magpies alongside Nick Daicos for most of this season in the absence of injured skipper Darcy Moore.
Collingwood's clash with Geelong is crucial for both sides in their aspirations of qualifying for the top six and avoiding playing Wildcard Round.
The undersized Wil Parker and untried Joel Cochran may come into selection consideration if the Magpies look for a like-for-like replacement, while Sam Swadling was a surprise omission who performed in the VFL, Lachie Schultz is nearing a return from an ankle injury and Will Hayes may be recalled at some point having played three VFL games since his six-week shoulder injury.
More to come.
