PORT Adelaide has been dealt a major injury blow with Paddy Ryder to be sidelined for up to six weeks with Achilles tendinites.

The Power ruckman succumbed to the injury during Port's 50-point victory over Fremantle on Saturday.

Scans on Monday revealed that Ryder would miss five to six weeks, leaving the club desperately short of experienced ruckmen.

Power senior assistant coach Matthew Nicks told FiveAA radio on Monday that the club would take a no-risk approach with their reigning All Australian big man.

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"We'll be really cautious with how we bring him back because he has had a history, so we'll be sure we do the right thing by him and get him back when he's ready to go," Nicks said.

"With tendinitis, he could look to come back in two to three (weeks), but the last thing we want to do is risk him, bring him back too early, and then the season's done.

"Our high-performance guys will do all the work they need to do and make sure he's cherry ripe when he returns.

"The challenge now is covering or replacing him and how we do that."

The Power's head of high performance Ian McKeown said it was a long-term injury that had flared up before. 

"Paddy has been managing issues in that area for several years now so we got ice on it immediately and, as you saw, he took no further part in the game," McKeown said.

"Given his history we'll be conservative be with his rehabilitation."

Ryder missed five games between rounds nine to 13 in the 2015 season with an inflamed Achilles tendon.

Arguably Port's most important player, Ryder will be difficult to replace for a side that traded big men Jackson Trengove and Matthew Lobbe during the off-season.

The 30-year-old was in a moon boot at the club's Alberton headquarters on Monday.

Ryder pulled up sore in the second quarter while running down the wing with Fremantle opponent Aaron Sandilands, and took himself off the ground shortly afterwards.

Coach Ken Hinkley conceded post-match that Ryder faced a stint on the sidelines.

The Power could use veteran Justin Westhoff or key defender Dougal Howard to cover for Ryder, or bring in an untried specialist ruckman such as Billy Frampton, Peter Ladhams or Sam Hayes.

Meanwhile, winger Jared Polec is in doubt for Sunday's clash with Sydney after reporting soreness in his adductor during the win against the Dockers.

Polec left the ground briefly for treatment, but returned to finish the game with 29 possessions.

He will be assessed during the week.