CARLTON is set to be without star forward Charlie Curnow for the next month, after he jarred the medial ligament in his right knee during Sunday's victory over Fremantle.
Curnow will join fellow exciting young forward Harry McKay on the sidelines, with his partner in crime also set to miss another week due to lingering groin soreness.
However, co-captain Patrick Cripps and young forward David Cuningham could return against Melbourne on Sunday, should they overcome fitness tests later this week.
Cuningham (left) and Cripps (right) would be two huge ins. Picture: AFL Photos
Curnow suffered the injury after a heavy collision with Fremantle's Ethan Hughes in the opening minutes on Sunday, coming from the field and failing to return to the game.
Scans earlier this week revealed a medial ligament injury, which the Blues believe will force the 22-year-old to spend either three or four matches on the sidelines.
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The high-flying forward told reporters he almost instantly self-diagnosed his injury, having done it before.
"End of the week it might be different, I might be back sooner, it's touch and go, we'll have to see how it goes and let the swelling go down a bit," he said.
"They're looking about three to four weeks at the moment, but if I can get back earlier, that will be nice.
"I kind of had a feeling I'd done it, because I'd done it before. I had a bit of a feeling it was the same, just not as bad. It was a really awkward position, really unlucky, it would have happened to anyone in that situation.
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"At the start (sitting on the bench) I was a bit shocked and annoyed I wasn't playing, but as the game went on I got really excited as a footy fan, just watching it.
"It went goal to goal at the end, I was pretty pumped when 'Simmsy' (Kade Simpson) ran around the corner and kicked that goal and I thought Ed (Curnow) played really well, he did his role.
"I thought that was the main message from the game, we didn't have 'Crippa' out there and other players stepped up and did their role. There was a lot of smiling going on, all the boys did their role, so it was a good game."
Curnow has already missed three games this season due to a separate knee injury.
The latest setback has come at a poor time for Curnow, who was just starting to hit form (14 goals in the four games before last weekend) after a slow start to the year.
"It hasn't been the easiest year, just a few injuries. They haven't been serious, they've just been annoying me a little bit," he said.
"I've found consistency before this week, so to have another setback isn't the greatest, but it's part of the game and it's probably the best job in the world, so I'm lucky.
"I love training, so I look back to that (his consistency). If I get on the track a lot – because I wasn't when I was injured – maybe that had a bit of an effect on my performance."
Cripps, who began running on Tuesday following a sprained foot suffered a fortnight ago, will undergo a fitness test on Thursday to determine his availability for Sunday's match.
Cuningham will also undergo a fitness test later this week ahead of the clash with Melbourne, having suffered a "hypertension episode" to his knee during the club's break.
