GEELONG utility Mark Blicavs faces an extended period on the sidelines, with the Cats to decide by Tuesday whether he needs to have surgery to repair a fracture in his right leg.
Blicavs visited with specialists on Monday evening to determine whether he will need to go under the knife to fix a crack in the tibia bone in his right leg.
The Cats expect to know more on the nature of the fracture by Tuesday, although further scans on Monday also revealed syndesmosis damage in the midfielder's right ankle.
Geelong football manager Steven Hocking said the club was hopeful Blicavs may be able to return in time for the club's finals campaign.
"We're waiting on some direction at the moment but that type of ankle injury can last anywhere between two weeks to six weeks, it just depends on how individuals respond to that type of injury," Hocking told AFL.com.au.
"The fracture is about whether there needs to be any surgery. It's looking unlikely but it's something the doctors need to work through and make a decision on once they have the information available."
The injury happened in the third quarter of the Cats' 21-point loss to Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, as Blicavs attempted to shepherd for skipper Joel Selwood in the middle of the ground.
In Blicavs' effort to shepherd Crow Rory Sloane out of the play, the Adelaide star latched on to him and brought him to the ground in a tackling motion, entangling Blicavs' right leg with Sloane's body as the ball left the area.
The loss of Blicavs is a significant one in regard to the structure of Geelong's team, with the 198cm big man able to fill a number of roles as an inside midfielder, a running wingman and even as a back-up ruckman this season.
The Cats have been playing tall pair Zac Smith and Rhys Stanley together in recent weeks, along with Blicavs, as they continue work out their best ruck combination leading into finals.
The 2015 Carji Greeves medallist has been in good form over the past month, averaging 16.8 disposals and had kicked five goals from his past four matches with his ability to create matchup problems for the opposition utilised more effectively.
Meanwhile, a decision on small forward Lincoln McCarthy's season will be made soon according to Hocking.
McCarthy has not played since round three due to an ongoing groin injury that has not settled as well as the club would have liked.
The Cats sent McCarthy to Canberra last week to visit a couple of specialists and he also made the trip to Adelaide with the team at the weekend and saw another specialist over there as well.
"We're just gathering information and we've done a bit of work with Linc to work through that and what that looks like," Hocking said.
"Whether he requires further surgery or whether it's just a rehabilitation period … that's where that one's at."
Veteran defender Andrew Mackie (illness), Nakia Cockatoo (hamstring) and Brandan Parfitt (hamstring) are all in the mix to return for Saturday night's clash against Carlton.
Wylie Buzza did not play in the VFL at the weekend but will be available to play, while Darcy Lang (leg) will be tested on the track this week.
