The Gold Coast Suns could be boosted by the return of promising utility Jack Lukosius this week, but at the expense of the injured Alex Davies, while the Adelaide Crows will be hoping forward Shane McAdam can prove his fitness in time for their clash with ladder-leaders Melbourne this weekend.
The Suns' Davies fell victim to a knee injury during the club's narrow loss to Port Adelaide last Sunday.
Gold Coast head physiotherapist Lindsay Bull provided an update on the young midfielder on Tuesday, with Davies facing a multi-week road back to playing.
"Alex, unfortunately, sustained an MCL injury in the game on Sunday, he had scans earlier this week and we'll now work with him on a rehabilitation program," Bull told goldcoastfc.com.au.
In more positive Suns injury news, Lukosius could return this week after being sidelined with a knee complaint since Round 8, while running defender Connor Budarick is a test for this weekend's clash with the in-form Magpies.
"Jack has been progressing really well and we will work with him to assess where he is at, with the view to play this weekend," Bull continued.
"Connor suffered a hamstring injury last fortnight but has been showing strong signs of improvement.
"We will increase his load and monitor how he goes in the main training session before determining his availability for this weekend."
Meanwhile, at West Lakes, McAdam continues to recover from a rolled ankle he suffered during the Crows' impressive win over North Melbourne in Hobart.
Adelaide's high-performance boss Darren Burgess reassured fans by announcing the 27-year-old's scans cleared him of any structural damage, but warned the forward is facing a race against time to play against the Demons on Saturday.
"He's had a scan which hasn't shown any major damage, it's just a decent ankle roll and we'll give him every chance to get up for the game against the Dees," Burgess told afc.com.au.
"We're hoping that he will be able to run straight line [on Wednesday] and train later in the week but that depends on how the ankle presents."
Will Hamill is the other Crow under an injury cloud heading into the weekend's action, with the 21-year-old defender set to be sidelined for at least a week after falling victim to concussion against the Roos.
