Melbourne co-captain Nathan Jones will miss up to six weeks with a quad injury.
In a huge blow to the Demons' finals chances, Jones will miss a crucial period of games for the side including matches against West Coast, Sydney and Port Adelaide.
Melbourne's elite performance manager Dave Misson told the club's website Jones may not return until late July.
“He’s got a decent strain of his rectus femoris [muscle] – his kicking leg,” Misson told Melbourne TV.
“We just want to be pretty cautious with that. Sometimes that can be a tough injury to rehab and we really want Nathan at the backend of the season.
“So, he’ll probably be four to six [weeks].”
Jones, who had been at his influential best in recent weeks, sat out the whole final quarter in his side's 57-point win over the reigning premiers.
The 29-year-old hadn't missed a game since 2012 before this season, and was having one of his best season's yet.
Jones was averaging 26.2 disposals, 5.4 tackles and 5.3 inside 50s a game so far in 2017, and has been instrumental in Melbourne's recent surge up the ladder.
