Geelong premiership forward Travis Varcoe will miss the first 5-7 weeks of the season after suffering a Bennett’s fracture to his right thumb.

Varcoe suffered the injury in the Cats practice match win over Fremantle on Saturday. He had scans on the thumb that revealed the break and he had surgery last night.

“It’s one of those things that you can’t do much about,” Cats general manager of football operations Neil Balme said.

“Travis can’t even recall it happening in the game. It was a bit sore on Monday so he got sent for a scan that showed the fracture and he went in for surgery last night. He will be in plaster for a month and then it will be 2-4 weeks after that until he can play.”

Varcoe has played 56 games since debuting in round two of 2007. He kicked 22 goals last year in 22 games, and his final quarter on grand final day was critical to the Cats come from behind win.

The injury could open the door to the likes of Steve Motlop and Mitch Duncan to win a spot in the round one team to tackle Essendon on Friday 26 March.