LUCKLESS Tiger Ben Lennon will be sidelined for up to three weeks after suffering a minor ankle injury in the VFL on Sunday.
Lennon was on the cusp of a return to the senior team but will now be racing the clock to appear again at the top level this season after a horror run with injury.
His latest setback is not serious, with the Tigers expecting him to be sidelined for one to three weeks after rolling an ankle.
But after two head knocks and a shoulder injury this season, he may not be risked in the final weeks of the season.
Lennon has managed just two senior games this season – against Adelaide and West Coast in rounds two and three – and four games with the Tigers' VFL team.
He suffered a bout of glandular fever in the pre-season that interrupted his preparation and underwent hip surgery at the end of last season.
Lennon spent the majority of last year in the VFL before earning a call-up in round 16, holding his spot for the rest of the home-and-away season before being dropped for the Tigers' elimination final.
Meanwhile, defender Dylan Grimes will need to pass a fitness test this week after suffering hamstring tightness in Sunday's loss to Hawthorn.
The club has not put a timeframe on vice-captain Brett Deledio's return from a calf injury.
In better news for the Tigers, defender Bachar Houli got through his VFL return unscathed after 11 weeks sidelined with a wrist injury.
