Geelong have ruled veteran pair Tom Hawkins and Cameron Guthrie out of potential returns for Saturday's preliminary final against Brisbane.
The two premiership Cats players recently returned to action via the VFL after nursing foot and Achilles injuries respectively during the home stretch to September.
Hawkins, who has announced this season will be his last, has not played since hurting his foot in Round 15, while Guthrie has played just four games this year after straining his quad in the pre-season before further ailments forced him back to the sidelines after Round 10.
Both players got through the club's VFL semi-final against Southport unscathed to be in the mix for returns, with young defender Sam De Koning also featuring in that contest as he makes his case for a recall from a knee injury.
While De Koning has been made available to face the Lions at the MCG this week, Hawkins and Guthrie won't play but could be in line for returns through the grand final if Geelong are successful this Saturday.
Coach Chris Scott confirmed toย Talking Footyย that the senior duo have fallen short for the club's upcoming final, while De Koning is a chance to return to a side that is coming off an 84-point win over Port Adelaide to open its final series.
"We're still thinking through final selection for the guys we think are fit and available," Scott said.
"De Koning fits into that category, whereas we don't think Hawkins and Guthrie are fit and available this week. They've done a remarkable job from where they came from to get themselves into a position where we had to think about it a lot.
"We just made the call to this point that they're not going to be quite ready, but that certainly doesn't preclude them from being available next week. That's exciting for us if we're good enough.
"It was a close call, but not close enough we weren't confident to make the call by now."
Scott will have five-time All-Australian Tom Stewart back after illness saw him ruled out hours prior to the Cats' qualifying final against the Power.
His replacement, Oisin Mullin, is likely to make way, while there is no obvious omission in the case De Koning comes back into the side, with Rhys Stanley a good chance to hold the first-string ruck role against Lions big man Oscar McInerney.
The Cats will confirm their 23-man side and emergencies on Thursday at 6:20pm (AEST), while final squads will be named an hour prior to Saturday's 5:15pm bounce.
The winner of Saturday's preliminary final between Geelong and Brisbane will face either Sydney or Port Adelaide in the 2024 AFL Grand Final.
