Geelong is bracing to be without champion forward Tom Hawkins following a foot injury sustained in Friday night's loss to Carlton, with the veteran Cat set to undergo scans.
In an attempt to lead for the ball, Hawkins fell to the ground in the third quarter and came off the field after looking hampered with a suspected foot or ankle injury.
He would eventually be ruled out of the remainder of the contest, with the 35-year-old hurting the same foot that hindered his preparations for last season, as he dealt with an ongoing toe injury.
The Cats are yet to learn the full extent of Hawkins' latest setback, with coach Chris Scott not putting a line through the triple-premiership player's prospects for the rest of the year.
Speaking to media after Geelong's 63-point loss to the Blues, Scott said the club was concerned but couldn't offer a detailed update on Hawkins' fresh injury.
"I can't say the news is good news, but I'm not saying the news is bad either," Scott said.
"He had to come off with a foot issue. It's mid-foot. He has had a (previous) issue with his toe but it is a fair way away from that, it's not the same injury. The experts we have don't know, so I certainly don't have anything more to add on that.
"They're not saying (his season is over) and I certainly don't want to say anything that alleviates the concern because we are concerned, but I don't want to jump to conclusions either."
The injury ended a difficult evening for Hawkins, who was kept to no effective disposals from three touches in another losing matchup on Carlton stopper Jacob Weitering.
Currently without a contract for next year, a season-ending setback for Hawkins could mean Friday's loss might've been his last game in the blue and white hoops after a club-record 359 matches.
However, Channel 7's Andrew McCormack provided a minor update on the champion forward, saying: "There is some hope that he has avoided a serious foot injury.
"There is some hope that he'll return this year."
.@_AMcCormack7 with an update on Tom Hawkins - there's hope he's avoided a serious foot injury. pic.twitter.com/uULOY22KUx
— 7AFL (@7AFL) June 23, 2024
Geelong's finals hopes are also slipping ahead of the home stretch, with their latest defeat being their sixth in seven matches to have them a chance of falling out of the top eight by the end of this weekend.
The Cats return to the MCG in Round 16 to face another premiership threat in Essendon on Saturday.
