GARY Ablett's homecoming at GMHBA Stadium will be delayed after the Geelong superstar suffered a hamstring injury in the final quarter of the Cats' loss to West Coast on Sunday.
Running ahead of the pack to gather a loose ball, Ablett pulled up short clutching his hamstring.
The 33-year-old immediately left the ground and hobbled straight the rooms with club medicos.
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It was a major blow for the Cats, with the veteran a vital figure in the Cats' 32-point third-quarter turnaround.
The injury will rule him out of next Sunday's clash with St Kilda and potentially the round six and seven matches against Sydney and GWS.
It is the second hamstring injury Ablett has suffered since returning to the Cats and he battled soft tissue and shoulder concerns throughout an injury-plagued final four years at Gold Coast.
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Speaking after the 15-point loss, Scott was unable to confirm the severity of the injury, but said it looked more serious than the one in pre-season.
"His injury through the pre-season was a two-week hamstring - it was minor. This one looked a bit significant to my inexperienced eye," Scott said.
"I'm looking for confirmation - I'm not sure it was the same one.
"He's had two so it's always a concern.
WATCH: Chris Scott's full post-match media conference
"He was having an impact on the game. We'd love to bring in another player as good as him (and) I reckon if we had that one sitting on the sidelines, we would've brought him in today."
Ablett's absence compounded the struggles of an already depleted Geelong outfit, which lost Cam Guthrie (ankle) in the second quarter and Nakia Cockatoo (PCL) in the third.
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The latest injuries add to a growing list that includes key players Mitch Duncan (hamstring), Harry Taylor (foot) and Lachie Henderson (knee).
Scott expects to regain Duncan for next week's clash with the Saints, but the return of Taylor and Henderson remains unclear.
Despite being down to one on the bench, the Cats turned around a 32-point deficit at half-time to be a winning position late in the final quarter before eventually losing by 15 points.
"We were clearly in trouble at half-time," Scott said.
"With a pretty inexperienced group and a few wounded, we needed to change some things up and find a way to get back in the game.
"In that respect, I think we should be proud of our players because they found a way to stay in the game.
"In the end, losing three players that were really important for us made it more difficult, and it looked like we were in control until late in the game.
"It's disappointing not to come away with it but in the context of not just this season, but our development as a football team, I think there’s a lot things that we come away from this game feeling quite positive about."
Scott also said the pre-match withdrawl of Rhys Stanley for Scott Selwood was a tactical decision.
