North Melbourne defender Luke McDonald has been ruled out of the 2025 season with a persistent shoulder injury he sustained in Round 16 against Hawthorn that requires surgery.
The Kangaroos were hopeful that McDonald would be able to feature again in the senior side, delaying surgery until after the campaign.
But as coach Alastair Clarkson explains, there was little improvement in his "strength and function" that ultimately made the decision.
"He's had a shoulder injury from the Hawthorn game (Round 16)," Clarkson said.
"When we saw the specialist from that game, they said, 'let's leave it for a couple of weeks, and see if he can regain some strength in it', probably knowing full well he'll require surgery at the end of the year.
"It just hasn't improved enough in terms of the strength or function to get him to the line, so he's going into surgery (Thursday), so he'll be out for the rest of the season."
Key forward Nick Larkey will miss another week of football as his initial assessment of his knee injury proved to be worse than first thought, with Clarkson saying it's a "week-by-week" proposition.
"He'll have another week (off)," Clarkson said.
"As it turned out, he's got a slight PCL (injury). He got that knock in the Western Bulldogs game. It was ever so slight, but when we got it scanned, it revealed the slightest of damage.
"We're just waiting for that to repair. We didn't want to take too much of a risk with him. He couldn't do the required training to make him available to play this week."
In-form ruckman Tristan Xerri will also be watching the clash from the grandstand after the Tribunal upheld the three-match suspension for his strike on Melbourne's Tom Sparrow.
Xerri's ban couldn't have come at a worse time, as the club prepares to face All-Australian bolter and Sydney ruck Brodie Grundy.
"Pretty significant challenge, especially this week," Clarkson said.
"Grundy has been in such terrific form for the Swans. He's been a key part to their turnaround.
"Not ideal we lose big 'X', but it presents an opportunity for someone else to step up in that role."
To soften the burden, midfield pairing Luke Davies-Uniacke and George Wardlaw are all but confirmed to return after exiting concussion protocols.
Callum Coleman-Jones poses as the likeliest replacement for Xerri, and could be seen at AFL level for the first time since Round 3 in 2024.
Mid-season draftee Brynn Teakle is also an option, while youngster Taylor Goad will come into consideration to take on Grundy.
