Catch up on all the latest AFL injury news ahead of Round 19, with several sides hoping to have star players overcome recent setbacks to be named.
The Power have unfortunately lost a key forward for the remainder of the season, while the Swans will be without a young midfielder for multiple weeks.
A Cats ruckman will miss the rest of 2024, but Geelong isn't ruling out returns for two veterans later this year while a midfielder nears his return from a shoulder injury.
Here's the latest on the injury front across the AFL landscape...
Young Saint downed
Emerging midfielder Mattaes Phillipou will be sidelined for at least three weeks after pulling up sore from the weekend.
Phillipou - who recently returned to the senior side in stellar form - was sent for scans which confirmed a hip injury.
โThis is a disappointing setback for Mattaes, who has been incredibly diligent in his approach to this season,โ Saints GM of Football Davidย Misson said.
Paddy Dow and Anthony Caminiti just need to prove themselves at training during the week to be available for selection.
Pie pain easing, just
Collingwood are hopeful that premiership duo Mason Cox and Jeremy Howe will be available for selection in the must-win clash against Hawthorn on Saturday.
Howe experienced hamstring awareness - which turned out to be a neural issue originating from his back -ย and missed last week's loss to Geelong.
However, the swingman will be deemed ready if he makes it through training.
As is for Cox, who is making positive progress in his knee recovery, completing one training session this week.
Charlie Dean and Lachie Schultz are ruled out for at least this weekend due to concussion as pre-season pick-up Josh Eyre is almost ready to exit the protocols.
Tom Mitchell also suffered a setback in his recovery.
Season over for shining Sun
Gold Coast pressure forward Ben Ainsworth has been officially ruled out of the season after injuring his shoulder during the clash with Port Adelaide.
GC SUNS Head Physiotherapistย Lindsay Bullย said the small forward would consult a specialist later this week to determine the next course of action.ย
โBen sustained a knock to his shoulder during the match which was assessed further post-match,โ Bull said.
โHe has unfortunately suffered a high-grade AC joint injury which means Ben will be unavailable for the remainder of the season.โย
However, news for Lachie Weller, who has overcame an ACL injury, has been cleared to return to play and is available for AFL selection.
Ruckman Jarrod Witts is a chance to return to play this weekend following his fractured verterbrae but will be assessed later in the week.
Young forward Jake Rogers will miss at least three weeks after suffering an MCL sprain.
Dog duo in frame to return
The Western Bulldogs are hopeful that Adam Treloar and Aaron Naughton will be available for selection when the club faces Geelong on Saturday.
โIn the warmup of the AFL game, Adam Treloar had some persistent generalised calf tightness,โ Head of Sports Medicine, Chris Bell said.
โHe felt that his top-end athletic performance was impacted and he didn't want to compromise the team.
โWe didn't want to take any risk with Adam, so we made a late change.
โAdam's calf tightness symptoms are improving and we will work through a process with him this week to determine his availability.โ
Naughton is set to be exiting concussion protocols while defender James O'Donnell is hoping to overcome "hamstring tightness".
โBoth Aaron Naughton and James O'Donnell have been progressing in line with our post-concussion management framework,โ Bell said.
โAaron completed a game-like session without contact on Saturday and is in line to tick our final boxes to be available for this weekend's game.
โJames had some hamstring tightness during last week, so we modified his Saturday session.
โWith some interruptions to his training and playing over the last few weeks, we want to make sure that we regain some continuity.
โWe will progress his training over the next two weeks to make sure that he is fit and firing and is back to his best.โ
Melbourne captain a "test", winger inches closer
Melbourne captain Max Gawn is in a shot to play in Round 19 despite an initial report that he may miss up to three weeks with an ankle issue.
Gawn missed last week's win against Essendon but has been optimistic ever since he injured his ankle that he'll be back sooner than first thought.
Demons High-Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith provided an update on the ruck.
โMax has progressed well,โ Griffith said.
โHe got back into running earlier this week, and we'll look to integrate him into training as long as he recovers well from that run.
โThen a decision on his availability will be made following that training session later in the week.โ
However, the news wasn't as positive for Lachie Hunter, who experienced a leg issue during the VFL run on Sunday.
โLachie just had a bit of calf tightness at half time,โ Griffith said.
โGiven the history that he's had this year with a few calf injuries, it was really important that we went through the right process to see if it was just some tightness or if there was an injury.
โIn consultation with the medical team, he was removed from the game, and we've scanned that calf which has shown a low-grade strain to his gastroc [gastrocnemius] muscle.
โFortunately for Lachie, there is no tendon involvement, and he's maintained really good strength.
โHe'll progress really quickly, and we look forward to having him back out on the park very soon.โ
Coniglio in race against clock
GWS midfielder Stephen Coniglio will be put through his paces during the week to deem his fitness after hurting his shoulder during Round 18's win.
Coniglio appeared to be in discomfort during the clash against Richmond and was subsequently subbed out at three-quarter time.
It is the same shoulder he hurt during Round 11 which resulted in a three-week layoff.
However, the latest injury didn't require a scan but will need to complete training on Thursday to be available against the Suns.
Hinge ready to go
Adelaide are expecting Mitch Hinge to be available for selection after overcoming adductor soreness.
Hinge was subbed out during Round 17 and was managed against St Kilda over the weekend.
โHingey has recovered well, we expect him to train today and be fully available this week,โ High Performance Manager Darren Burgess said.
โHe's taken some time off, did some straight line running on the weekend and I'm sure he will get through training today and be available so it's a nice problem to have.โ
Up-and-coming defender Josh Worrell is also not far away from returning to the side after breaking his arm in Round 10.
โJosh has been on his feet now for about five or six weeks and done plenty of running, we're hoping that he will get surgeon's clearance next week and be available next weekend,โ Burgess said.
โIt's great news for him, he's really worked hard, the rehab guys have put him through the wringer and he will certainly come back ready to play.โ
Power confirm Finlayson blow, latest on Marshall
Port Adelaide will be without veteran forward Jeremy Finlayson for the remainder of the 2024 season after the Power tall suffered a laceration to his spleen.
Finlayson, who won't require surgery, won't be able to return to the field this year following a collision during Sunday's loss to Gold Coast that left him with pain in his sternum.
An extended period of rest and recovery will mean Finlayson won't play again, with the Power having six weeks remaining in their home and away campaign before a potential finals series.
Meanwhile, fellow forward Todd Marshall remains in contention to play this weekend after hurting his hip in the Suns game.
Marshall has escaped serious injury and will be tested over the coming days, with the Power forward a chance to join the returning Mitch Georgiades in attack.
The Power will be without defender Lachie Jones (concussion) for Round 19, while Josh Sinn (quad), Trent McKenzie (hamstring) and Ryan Burton (foot) are all in the mix and listed as tests ahead of Saturday's clash with Richmond.
Swan sidelined with knee issue
A PCL knee injury has sidelined Sydney midfielder Justin McInerney for at least a couple of weeks, with the young Swan requiring a brace after hurting his leg in Saturday's win over North Melbourne.
McInerney was unable to see out the victory due to the ailment, which will now place him out of action for at least two weeks before further assessment is made.
"He'll be in a brace for a couple of weeks and then we'll see how he goes from there," Swans coach John Longmire confirmed on Tuesday.
"PCLs can be a bit unpredictable, so we're not sure what that means (for Justin). It's at least a couple (of weeks), and how long beyond that we're not sure."
The Swans will hope to have veteran defender Harry Cunningham back from a hamstring injury as early as this week.
Hawks provide latest on Ginnivan, D'Ambrosio
Hawthorn forward Jack Ginnivan is a live chance to face his former side on Saturday as he looks to overcome a knee injury.
The crafty Hawk is seen as a likely chance to feature on the MCG against Collingwood after raising his workloads in recent days.
"Jack's tracking really well. On Saturday, he got moving out here and did a training session with Jack Price in our rehab group," Hawks high performance boss Peter Burge said in a club update.
"He did some AlterG running and felt really good. We actually then took him outside on Saturday and started moving. We did a bit more yesterday, we did some strides and some run-throughs. Today, he progressed that and ran faster and then we put him into some football training as well so right now, it's looking really good for training on Thursday and obviously, for the game on the weekend, it's probably more in the 'likely' category."
Wingman Massimo D'Ambrosio suffered a sprained ankle in last week's win over Fremantle and is also listed as a test.
"He had an ankle inversion sprain in the game and acutely, just wasn't comfortable so he was subbed out of the game," Burge said.
"But he's pulled up quite well and has run straight-line today on the AlterG treadmill. We'll assess and progress Thursday into some training hopefully, but there's a little bit of work to do between now and Thursday. He's given himself a chance and hopefully, he'll be more of a chance after Thursday."
Mid-Season Draft addition Jasper Scaife will miss 1-2 weeks with a broken finger.
Cats youngster done for the year, two veterans still recovering as midfielder nears return
Geelong have lost young ruckman Toby Conway for the remainder of the 2024 season following an ongoing battle with a foot injury.
A navicular stress fracture will see Conway undergo surgery and put a line through the rest of his campaign, with the Cats hoping to have the youngster primed for next year.
Midfielder Tanner Bruhn is a chance to return this weekend against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday following a shoulder injury, with the onballer needing to pass a fitness test this week.
Tall Shannon Neale has been cleared to play following a knock to the throat last week.
Veteran pair Tom Hawkins (foot) and Cameron Guthrie (Achilles) remain a chance to play again in 2024.
