Collingwood has waved goodbye to two of their 2023 premiership players for the remainder of the season.
An Essendon winger's hamstring injury extent revealed, putting his season in jeopardy.
Meanwhile, the Western Bulldogs will look to welcome back some experienced heads as the club goes from strength to strength.
Here's the latest on the injury front across theย AFLย landscape...
Eagle star given a "chance" in Round 22
West Coast defender Tom Barrass is a chance to return but will need to pass concussion protocols and a hamstring tendinopathy to face North Melbourne.
It will likely be straight swap with emerging youngster Harry Edwards, who is entering concussion protocols.
โUnfortunately for Harry Edwards he copped a head knock on the weekend so he's now in concussion protocols so won't play this week,โ High Performance Manager Mat Inness said.
โTom missed last week with concussion. He's progressing through the concussion protocols.
โHe's had some hamstring tendinopathy for a few weeks, so we're managing the hamstring and the head, so he's a test for both of those.โ
2018 premiership hero Dom Sheed's season is over after he suffered a hamstring injury at training last week while Josh Rotham (abdomen) is unavailable for selection.
Hawthorn ruck close to return
Hawthorn will soon have Ned Reeves to choose from in the ruck, with the club saying he's "tracking well" from a back injury.
"He'll return to some football training this week and we're aiming to look at match play the following week," High-Performance Manager Peter Burge said.
"The last week has been really good, we've been able to get into some conditioning and running and some good work under his belt.
"Now the next step is to progress to some controlled football skills this week with the plan next week to have a full week of training and back into match play."
Carlton winger clipped as fear over forward allayed
The Blues will sorely miss winger Matthew Cottrell who has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2024 season.
Cottrell was sent for scans after Saturday's loss, which revealed a fracture in his shoulder.
Charlie Curnow is expected to play after rolling his ankle against the Pies while Adam Cerra will miss at least the next fortnight as the club looks to assess his hamstring injury.
Defender Caleb Marchbank will be unavailable as he enters concussion protocols as swingman Zac Williams has been given the green light to return from a hamstring injury.
De Koning not ruled out yet
Geelong defender Sam De Koning is a test to face Fremantle this weekend despite an innocuous knee injury.
Cats GM of Football Brett Johnson said the club is still hopeful he'll get up for the important clash.
โSam was unfortunately subbed out with a knee injury on the weekend against the Crows. We will continue to monitor his progress throughout the week and readiness to play ahead of the game against Fremantle,โ Johnson said.
Mark O'Connor is likely to miss up to two weeks with a knee injury while Gary Rohan has a chance to play after missing the Crow's clash with concussion.
Despite announcing his retirement, Tom Hawkins is still hopeful he can make an impact on field in 2024.
The club believes he is 1-2 weeks away.
May to miss
Melbourne defender Steven May will miss at least this weekend after sustaining a nasty rib injury, his second this season.
May was subbed out from the loss to the Bulldogs on Friday night and sent to hospital to assess the damage.
โUnfortunately, Steven suffered that injury during the match and had to be subbed out as he had some referred pain to his abdominals,โ Demons High-Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith said.
โSo, we wanted to make sure that he was clear of any internal damage, which fortunately our scans did clear him of any abdominal injury.
โHe's now recovering at home. We'll hopefully have him back in later this week, but he has been quite sore following that incident.
โOnce we get him back in the club, we'll be able to assess what his progressions look like from there.โ
Christian Salem is in a race to return this season, working through a minor hamstring injury while young winger Caleb Windsor is "progressing well", with the club looking to have him running at the end of the week.
Dockers mid "going well" as veteran still a week off
Fremantle midfielder Matt Johnson appears ready to return to the AFL following a successful run in the WAFL.
Johnson played 60 minutes for Peel Thunder and showed he was a class above.
Veteran Michael Walters and Alex Pearce are progressing well, with the former eyeing Round 23 as a return.
โIt's going really well (Walters' hamstring),โ Dockers High-Performance Manager Phil Merriman said.
โHe's been getting through a whole heap of work and he's certainly going to be coming back nice and fit.
โHe (Walters) will be one week away.
โ(Pearce) is tracking well. He's begun his mobility work and is going to get into his run work early next week.
โAll things are looking good.โ
Defender Oscar McDonald is also close to making a miraculous recovery from a long-term knee injury sustained earlier in the year.
Suns co-captain nearing return
Gold Coast will hope that co-captain Touk Miller (wrist) is right to go in Round 23, being a huge morale boost for the club.
The Suns are essentially out of finals contention but still have plenty to play for, including beating their season-best of 10 wins.
Young tall Ethan Read (leg) is likely to be available next week while veteran key forwards Levi Casboult (hamstring) and Sam Day (foot) should be ready to go.
Swans defenders a test
Sydney will be desperate to welcome back defenders Dane Rampe and Lewis Melican when the club takes on Collingwood on Friday night.
Melican is dealing with hamstring tightness and missed the 112-point defeat while Rampe appears to be over a calf issue.
Tom Papley (ankle) is still 2-3 weeks away and could return before the finals while Justin McInerney (knee) is in a race to feature in 2024.
Lions to welcome back talls
Eric Hipwood and Darragh Joyce are set to be available for the Round 22 clash with GWS.
Hipwood was a late out before the weekend's win over St Kilda due to the tall forward experiencing groin soreness.
Joyce has been sidelined for the last two matches with a fractured jaw.
Both players will be put through their paces on Thursday in a bid to be ready for Saturday.
Key defender Jack Payne is still a fortnight away while James Tunstill (concussion) and Carter Michael (quad) will join him on the sidelines.
Kelly cleared, a wait on Cogs
GWS has confirmed that star midfielder Josh Kelly has been given the green light to return from his calf injury.
Kelly has missed the past five outings and will be an important inclusion to the Giants side who are pushing for a top-four spot.
Matters could be made even better with the potential return of Stephen Coniglio, who battles a persistent shoulder injury.
Coniglio will be a test for Round 22 with Thursday's training session a chance for him to prove his fitness.
Key forward Jake Riccardi has been ruled out of the remainder of the home and away season after undergoing surgery on his hand while running defender Isaac Cumming is progressing well in his bid to return by finals times.
Young ruck Nick Madden is set to play his first VFL game since May this year after overcoming an ankle injury.
No Power outage as talls add to selection pressure
Port Adelaide could have Todd Marshall and Ivan Soldo playing in the SANFL given the current form of the senior side.
Marshall's condition has further improved following a hip injury, with the key forward expected to be available, while Soldo has rejoined full training and will be assessed throughout the week, the club said.
However, the news wasn't as positive for defenders Trent McKenzie (quad) and Kyle Marshall (shoulder), who have both been ruled out of the remainder of the season, joining Sam Powell-Pepper (knee) and Jeremy Finlayson (spleen) on the sidelines.
Saints soldiers set to return
St Kilda will be buoyed by the availabilities of Zaine Cordy, Jack Hayes and mid-season pick-up Max Hall, pending they get through the week's training.
Hayes was last seen in Round 9 and has spent the previous months managing the swelling in his knee while Cordy has made a quicker-than-expected recovery from an adductor injury.
โAs we look to finish the year strongly and turn our sights towards next season, it's great to have more of our squad approach full fitness,โ EGM Football David Misson said.
โJack's perseverance over the past few months has in particular been pleasing, and we hope to see him continue that progress before a return to play.โ
Midfielder Marcus Windhager will spend another week on the sidelines recovering from a hamstring injury while Seb Ross is pushing to return before the season ends.
Surgery to end veteran Eagle's 2024 seasonย
West Coast midfielder Dom Sheed's season has been brought to a close, with a recent hamstring injury and foot surgery set to sideline the premiership hero further.
Sheed was sidelined over the weekend due to a hamstring issue and underwent scans, with the club also deciding to put the onballer under the knife for a troublesome foot complaint, perย 9 News'ย Paddy Sweeney.
Sheed faced a delayed start to his 2024 due to the injury, with the 29-year-old managing eight games this year - his last coming in Round 13.
.@WestCoastEagles Dom Sheedโs season is over.
Already has hamstring injury, the midfielderโs set for surgery on the same foot he suffered a stress reaction in which delayed his start to 2024.
8 games this year, Sheedโs contracted for 2025.@9NewsPerth @FootyonNine
— Paddy Sweeney (@SweeneyPaddy9) August 5, 2024
Pies pain grows deeper
De Goey's fresh injury setback that he sustained in the three-point win against Carlton was a high-grade hamstring strain with tendon damage.
As for Mitchell - who hasn't been sighted since Round 7 - has battled a plantar fascia issue and appendicitis throughout the year, with the club finally putting a line through his return chances.
Key forward, Nathan Kreuger has been cleared from concussion protocols and will be available for selection.
400-gamer Scott Pendlebury was sent for scans on Monday for a 'maintenance check' on a recent bicep injury, with the veteran midfielder still in the mix for Friday's clash at the SCG against Sydney.
The short turnaround and injury concern could force Pendlebury to miss game 401 this week
"(Scans) were just to keep checking that (the bicep tendon) is still intact," Pendlebury told reporters.
"I gave it a little bit of a tweak on the weekend. It feels a lot better than what it did last time.
"I'll be sweet for the weekend."
Bomber blow as wingman downed
Essendon winger Xavier Duursma is unlikely to be seen again in the home and away season, with scans confirming a hamstring injury in the one-point win against Fremantle on Sunday.
Duursma was subbed from the contest in the second term and will miss the next 3-4 weeks.
Experienced pair Jordan Ridley (hip) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring) each remain two weeks away in their respective injury recoveries.
Mid-season drafteeย Saad El-Hawli will have a chance to make his return from injury this weekend.
El-Hawli has been sidelined with syndesmosis since Round 11 of the VFL season.
Dogs bark getting louder
The Western Bulldogs are humming at the moment and their injury list is seemingly growing smaller.
Regular faces James Harmes (hamstring) and Ryan Gardner (wrist) have all but been given the green light to return to football this weekend after long layoffs, while youngster Kelsey Rypstra is another one the club is keen to get fit.
Both James and Kelsey are in the final stages of their rehabilitation following their hamstring injuries,โ Head of Sports Medicine, Chris Bell said.
โBoth players have completed a match parameters training session on the weekend, and if they come through main training this week like I expect, both will return to availability.โ
"Ryan has been incredibly diligent in the recovery following the surgery that repaired a damaged ligament in his wrist,โ Bell added.
โHe still has some final boxes to tick for us across this week, but we are optimistic that he will be pulling on the jumper this weekend after missing the last 11 weeks.โ
Tough Tiger set to return as duo ruled out of season
Richmond midfielder Jack Ross is in line to return to football after long injury lay-offs this weekend, and could be joined by youngster Liam Fawcett.
Fawcett (back stress fracture) has not played a game for Richmond at any level since being selected in last year's National Draft, while Ross (foot) has not played since Round 5.
However, the news wasn't as good for Tom Brown and Steely Green, who are both ruled out for the remainder of the year with ankle injuries they sustained in the loss to North Melbourne.
Scans revealed syndesmosis injuries for the pair, with Green's issue compounded by damage to his toe.
Veteran forward Tom Lynch will be pushing his case before the season closes out and will join in on full training this week.
Kane McAuliffe (hip) and Marlion Pickett (hamstring) are chances to return, pending a positive week on the track.
Logue-less: Kangaroos lose defender
After returning from an ACL injury late last year in Round 19, Logue was keen to make amends for the time missed, but a subsequent wrist injury has cancelled his plans.
The 26-year-old is set for surgery on Thursday and will likely resume full training just before the Christmas break.
Winger Dylan Stephens has been ruled out of Saturday's clash with West Coast after sustaining an ankle injury.
"Dylan had an incident in the second quarter where he suffered an ankle sprain which prevented him from displaying his running power," North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said.
Zac Fisher (plantar fascia) is a chance to return this week while Curtis Taylor (calf) and Bigoa Nyuon (shoulder) have both been ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
