Collingwood have confirmed a hairline fracture to the arm of forward Ash Johnson, which will keep the Magpies sharpshooter out of action for the coming weeks.
Johnson hurt his arm at VFL level over the weekend in Collingwood's defeat to Williamstown, a loss that brought the Magpies reserves' season to an end.
With the club's senior side set to commence their finals run on Thursday against Melbourne, Johnson remains a live chance to return to the field for a shot at premiership glory sometime in September.
Any return won't come until later into this month however, with Collingwood football boss Graham Wright confirming the extent of Johnson's arm injury on Tuesday.
“Unfortunate news for Ash who will look to spend a few weeks out of the game,” Wright said in a club statement.
“Ash has played a key role across our AFL program, and more recently within our VFL side, so we are disappointed for this setback.”
Johnson played 15 games for the Magpies during their home and away campaign this year which led to Craig McRae's men claiming the minor premiership.
The former Sturt forward has booted 21 goals so far this season, only going goalless in two matches.
Johnson's last appearance under McRae came in Round 21, with the athletic forward likely needing an uninterrupted recovery timeline and potential setbacks for other forwards to be a chance to appear at AFL level again this year.
Collingwood's finals run will commence on Thursday night against Melbourne at 7:20pm (AEST) in the first Qualifying Final of the post-season.