Another setback for Richmond's Shaun Hampson could see the ruckman spend the entire season on the sidelines.
Hampson has been recovering from a back injury that hampered his JLT Community Series campaign, and was placed on the long-term injury list in March.
Richmond coach Damian Hardwick said during his press conference on Friday that Hampson's immediate future looked uncertain, and couldn't time a timeframe on his return.
"He had a setback, I think it was last week again," Hardwick said.
"Unfortunately with backs, you're never quite sure how they're going to respond. He'll be moving well and then all of a sudden something won't feel right and he'll go back a little bit.
"It's going to be longer than we initially thought, how long we're not too sure."
In light of his injury, Hampson has turned to a different method of rehabilitation to aid his recovery.
"It's always in the back of your mind that it's one of those ones that might hang around for 12 months," Hardwick said.
"He's doing a power of work on some areas that are a little outside the square.
"He's doing a lot of pilates off-site. We're just saturating him with that at the moment, just to try and get a bit of stability around his back and pelvis area."
The 29-year-old has played 35 games for Richmond since making the switch from Carlton to Tigerland at the end of the 2013 season.
