Young Carlton duo Paddy Dow and Zac Fisher both remain sidelined for this weekend's clash with Geelong.
Fisher has been missing from the side since injuring his ankle in the Blues' Round 1 loss to Richmond and during an interview on the club website, Carlton director of high performance Andrew Russell says Fisher needs time to rebuild match fitness.
"He lost a lot of conditioning because he basically couldnโt run for seven weeks. Thereโs no magic when you recondition these guys: you need to do the work," Russell said.
"Heโs getting better, heโs back into skills training and going well."
"He probably wonโt play this week, heโs a good chance to play the week after."
Dow is also at least a few weeks away from playing after suffering a minor knee injury during the shutdown period.
"It hasnโt settled as we thought it would: we thought it was going to be a very low-level issue," Russell said.
"He hasnโt been able to get back into skills yet. Heโs running, heโs training hard."
"Weโre trying a couple of different things this week that helps him turn the corner."
In other injury news at Ikon Park, Matthew Kreuzer is a "realistic option for the year down the track" and could be available within the next two months.
Young ruckman Tom De Koning is available for selection this week after recovering from an ankle injury.
The 0-2 Blues meet the the Cats this Saturday night at GMHBA Stadium.
