Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has been sidelined for the clash against Fremantle on Friday night, after suffering an abdominal strain.
But there are fears the midfielder could miss more than just their round 11 clash.
The 28-year-old left the training track early on Tuesday, immediately sent for scans to determine how severe his injury is.
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Collingwood coach Craig McRae confirmed the news.
“Jordy won’t play,” McRae said on Tuesday.
“He’s got a fresh injury, he’s got an abdominal strain.
“He got that in the game and played through it and pulled up quite sore from it. He’s getting scans now to check out what that means.
“We tried to give it some time just to see how it was going and he obviously didn’t get through it (at training) and then went off for scans.
“We’ll find out a bit more how deep it is.”
McRae confirmed the flare-up is unrelated to De Goey’s groin issue, which he has been battling for a number of weeks already.
“This is a separate injury actually, the other one has settled down and this one has expressed itself as an abdominal strain – it’s nothing to do with the (groin),” he said.
But it’s not all bad news for the Pies with the superstar midfielder sidelined.
It means two debutants will come in for the Magpies.
Category B rookie Wil Parker, who was picked up in February after a stint as a leg-spinner in the Victorian cricket team, will pull on the Magpies jumper.
Parker also played BBL for the Hobart Hurricanes and made his first-class debut for Victoria in 2020, before his dwindling cricketing opportunities led him back to football.
He’ll be joined by Ed Allen, who will make his debut in his home state of Western Australia.
Allen’s father, Ben, was Fremantle captain in the 1995 and 1996 seasons, playing 211 games across two clubs.
He was also part of the Hawks’ 1991 premiership side.
McRae praised Ed Allen as one of the “fittest” players at the club on the eve of his debut.
The Pies have not lost a game since their horror 0-3 start, sitting fifth on the ladder with a 6-3-1 record.