Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley said the club is going to give captain Connor Rozee the chance to prove his fitness for Thursday's clash with Carlton until "the very last minute".
Rozee - who returned from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for a fortnight - sprained his ankle in the win against North Melbourne.
The 23-year-old was able to complete the remainder of the match but hasn't featured in any of the training sessions throughout the week.
However, Hinkley is yet to put a line through Rozee's availability, although declared they would not risk their skipper.
"We'll wait and see," Hinkley told reporters on Tuesday.
"Clearly it's a short turnaround, five days," Hinkley told reporters on Tuesday.
"And we'll give it to the very last minute to figure out where he's at, but if there's any danger we won't play him.
Safe to say Connor Rozee wonโt be playing tomorrow night against Carlton, the skipper a no show at Portโs captainโs run.
Soldo and Sweet are both out here on Adelaide Oval, but more likely than not Sweet will be an emergency. @9NewsAdel
— Braden Ingram (@bradeningram) May 29, 2024
"This is not soft tissue so it's a more manageable injury, which is something there will be a little bit more pain than danger of hurting it again.
"And we go into the bye the week after, there's plenty of time to recover and rest after that, so we'll be bullish right to the moment probably.
"It's more about dealing with the pain of a sore ankle ... they can be sore but you can actually get through."
The injury to Rozee is compounded by the unavailability of small forward Willie Rioli, who strained his calf over the weekend and will miss at least two weeks.
Key forward Charlie Dixon is all but set to return after being rested against the Kangaroos while Ivan Soldo could be recalled as the No.1 ruckman, replacing Jordon Sweet in the role.
"He got through everything we wanted him to get through last week at SANFL level," Hinkley said of Soldo.
"So, he's available to be selected.
MORE: The impact Ivan Soldo is having on Port Adelaide
"We will pick the ruck that we think will give us the best opportunity against Carlton to compete."
Channel 7 presenter Josh Money revealed that Soldo was playing on the preferred side at Port Adelaide's main training session.
Hinkley has also praised defensive recruits Esava Ratugolea and Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, helping lock down the two key posts in the backline.
The Power sit third on the AFL ladder with eight wins, but their defensive system has impressed in the early stages of the season.
Hinkley's men rank seventh for points against (78 per game), which is largely attributed to the work of the new talls.
With an imposing task set for Thursday due to the likes of Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay lining up opposite them, the Port Adelaide coach admitted matchups like these are the reason why Ratugolea and Zerk-Thatcher were acquired.
"There's no doubt about that," Hinkley said.
"When you come up against the size of those two boys and the talent that they have, that's certainly the reason we went looking last year to find some players to help us in that area."
