Richmond's key defensive stocks look to have taken another hit with Jacob Blight subbed out of Thursday's contest against Carlton with a groin issue.
Blight landed awkwardly in a marking contest during the third term of the Round 1 bout, with the fourth gamer immediately heading to the interchange for medical treatment.
The Western Australian underwent assessment on the sidelines and attempted to keep his playing prospects alive before a decision was made to end his evening early due to the concern.
Midway through the third stanza the Tigers pulled the trigger on their tactical sub, bringing Sonsie into the game in Blight's place.
"He's got a tight groin, he wanted to keep going," coach Adem Yze revealed post-game.
"The risk was that he could obviously do something, and with the big boys that we've got on the sidelines at the moment in our back end, he's just too important for us.
"He wanted to go back out there but we just made the call. They were playing a little bit smaller anyway so we could take no risks."
A potential setback for the Mid-Season Draft recruit would seeย Yze's tall defensive options depleted further for the early rounds of the season, with suspension and injury already putting a strain on Richmond's rearguard.
Small forward Rhyan Mansell required some assessment on the interchange in the last quarter after a marking contest but was able to return to play.
The Tigers will have Noah Balta unavailable for the next three games as he continues to serve his suspension from the off-season, while fellow talls Josh Gibcus and Tylar Young remain sidelined for indefinite periods as they continue to recover from ACL injuries sustained last year.
Richmond also have Mykelti Lefau, Taj Hotton and Judson Clarke in rehab from ACL injuries of their own, while Josh Smillie (hamstring), Dion Presita (Achilles) and Hugo Ralphsmith (hamstring) are several weeks away from their returns.
Yze relied on Blight and Ben Miller to try and quell Carlton's forwards on Thursday night, with the Blues' attack also blunted by the absence of Coleman Medal winner Charlie Curnow.
The Blues made their own sub change in the second half, with Cooper Lord replaced by Sam Docherty for tactical reasons.
The Tigers face Port Adelaide next week before matches against St Kilda and Brisbane to round out their opening month of the 2025 season.
