THE BRISBANE Lions' hopes of sneakinginto September have been dealt a blow, with star defender Daniel Merrett to besidelined for up to four months with a fractured ankle.
The 10th-placed Lions, who must beatGeelong this weekend to have any chance of playing finals, confirmed Merrett wouldhave surgery on Monday after sustaining a fractured left ankle during the winover the Western Bulldogs.
Merrett landed awkwardly under a JordanRoughead tackle during the third quarter before being stretchered off.
The Lions also revealed co-captainJonathan Brown had a minor knee operation last week on an injury that troubledhim during the season.
The operation was successful and Brown’srecovery timeframe is expected to be six weeks.
Brown was sidelined for the season whenhe had surgery on a plantar fascia injury sustained against St Kilda in round19.
The absence of both Brown and Merrettleaves the Lions light on for both size and experience in their forward halfahead of the clash against the Cats.
Champion midfielder Simon Black missedthe Bulldogs win through suspension, but is also battling to recover from agroin injury to be available for the final round.
Neither Black nor Brown have revealed theirplans for next year yet.
Young midfielder Jared Polec will alsohave an ankle clean-up on Monday.
