FOR THE MOST RECENT INJURY UPDATE ON NICK DAICOS AND NATHAN MURPHY CLICK HERE.
Collingwood duo Nick Daicos and Nathan Murphy will both undergo scans on separate injury concerns sustained in Saturday's shock defeat to Hawthorn.
Murphy sustained a suspected syndesmosis injury after hurting his ankle late into the game, with the Magpies hopeful the ailment is on the low end.
Daicos was also battling in the fourth term after suffering a knock to the knee, with the Brownlow Medal favourite unable to finish the game in what was one of the more difficult evenings in his short career.
The league's leading ball-winner was kept to just five disposals for the day, with Hawthorn tagger Finn Maginness putting clamps on the young Pies star all game.
Speaking after the loss, Collingwood coach Craig McRae said both of his in-form players would require scans in the coming days, with the club less optimistic about Murphy's playing chances for next week.
"There is more than the four points lost here today. There'll be a couple of boys chasing the clock to get up," McRae said.
"Nathan Murphy looks like he might have a syndesmosis โ we're getting that scanned โ I'm hearing on the low-end if that is what it is. Nick got a knock to the knee. He'll get a scan to see if there is anything deeper than just a knock.
"The doc says he's concerned with (Murphy having) a low-grade syndesmosis. We'll know more when we get the scans. Likely to be out next week."
McRae confirmed after the loss that fringe defender Billy Frampton would likely be rested instead of playing in the VFL on Sunday, with the Collingwood recruit now in line to replace Murphy for next Friday's clash with Geelong.
Daicos' quiet afternoon played a part in the Magpies suffering an upset loss at the hands of 16th-placed Hawks to the tune of 32 points, with Sam Mitchell's side piecing together a strong four-quarter performance from the offset.
While crediting Maginness' role and the Hawks' well-rounded performance, McRae said Daicos wasn't the only player that should've come away from the loss with a lesson learnt.
"It is not about Nick, but I think we'll all learn a lot about ourselves. The level of the tag was what we expected," the Collingwood coach said.
"Nick gets a knock and it makes it harder for him to run off as much, so we put him deep. It didn't quite work.
"In the end, we were tying ourselves in knots trying to find a place for Nick. It was disconnecting other parts of our game. In the end, we went with what we knew, back to a bit of a normal system.
"Credit to Finn Maginness who has found a role for himself in the AFL. He is a great kid. I was lucky enough to work with him for 12 months. He works as hard at his game as anyone I've seen.
"Challenges always present. We're not a team that gets a loser's limp going, I'm not gonna live in that world."
Collingwood will bank on their two-win gap over second to remain comfortable in top spot with three rounds to go, however the club's loss tally has doubled in the past two weeks. The Magpies face Geelong next week before matches against Brisbane and Essendon to conclude their home and away campaign.
