GEELONG defender Lachie Henderson will be sidelined for at least a fortnight after suffering a plantar fascia injury in last Thursday’s win over Adelaide.
Coach Chris Scott says the issue wasn’t apparent in the aftermath of the Cats’ victory.
“… will probably keep him out for two or three weeks is best guess at the moment,” Scott said.
“It’s unfortunate for Lachie and for us because he’d been in good form in the VFL, found his way into the team and played well for us.
“But, discretion is the better part of valour with this one. He’s going to be important to us later on in the year.
“And particularly with those injuries, even if it’s possible to play with them, they can tend to drag on.
“We had that experience with Harry Taylor last year, so we’re going to be conservative with that one.”
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Jack Henry, who missed the clash with the Crows due to a hamstring problem, looms as the direct swap for Henderson.
“That’d be logical thinking, but we haven’t made that decision yet,” Scott said. “We need to be absolutely sure that Jack’s right.
“As I alluded to last week, the decision to take Jack out was more around the five-day break than the severity of the injury, so we’re really confident he’ll be right.
“It’s a fair observation to make, that even if we have full availability, Jack’s been in our best 22.
“So it’s unlikely we’d see any reason to keep him out.”
Scott is “very confident” will play against the Giants despite suffering a low-grade ankle sprain, while Mark O’Connor’s “a virtual certainty” after recovering from a knock to his hip.
Cam Guthrie, who has missed the opening three rounds with a calf problem, has been declared fit.
“… had a really good week on the track and an absolute possibility to come straight back into the team given the amount of training he’s had,” Scott said.
However, Irishman Zach Tuohy is likely to be held back to the Easter weekend as he closes in on a return from off-season knee surgery.
“(He’s) touch and go to play some footy this week, but more likely we’ll hold him back until next week,” Scott said.
“Jed Bews is on a similar timeline – maybe a week or so longer, but he’s making good progress.
“Scott Selwood is training really well, but we’re holding him back a little bit.
“So, it’s unlikely he’ll play in the next fortnight.”
Small forward Lachie Fogarty is back in full training following hip surgery.
“(He’s) starting to get closer to a return date even though we don’t have that exactly at the moment,” Scott said.
Twitter: @tom_king79
