RICHMOND captain Trent Cotchin will miss at least two weeks after suffering a fractured cheekbone in the Tigers' 35-point loss to Port Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday night.
The 26-year-old picked up the injury in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but managed to play out the game.
A Richmond spokesperson confirmed to AFL.com.au on Sunday that Cotchin would have surgery on Monday to repair the damage.
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Tigers football manager Dan Richardson said the club was only made aware of Cotchin's fracture after the game, and he praised the skipper's leadership qualities.
"We didn't know about it until after the game, so that shows how courageous it was," Richardson told Triple M on Sunday.
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"He didn't put his hand up to come off the ground and we all know how much criticism, at times, Trent's copped from the footy world but … what he did last night shows the courage of the man and shows what a great leader he is for this footy club."
Despite the injury, Cotchin finished the match against the Power with 19 disposals and two tackles.
Cotchin assumed the captaincy duties at the Tigers in 2013, but his on-field leadership has sometimes come under scrutiny.
The Tigers face triple reigning premier Hawthorn at the MCG next Friday night.
They will also enter that game without All Australian defender Alex Rance, who is serving a two-match ban for his hit on Melbourne's Jack Watts in round five.
Richmond has recorded its worst start to a season since 2010, and its loss to Port Adelaide was the club's fifth straight defeat for the first time since 2011.
Compounding matters, Richardson confirmed midfielder Kane Lambert would miss four to six weeks due to a punctured lung and cracked rib he suffered in a marking contest from Brad Ebert's knee.
The 24-year-old was taken to hospital after experiencing breathing difficulties following the incident.
Meanwhile, Tigers vice-captain Brett Deledio says hard work is the only way his side can turn around their embarrassing start to the season.
"There's no point bitching and moaning about it. We've just got to get around each other and get ourselves out of it," Deledio said on Sunday morning.
"We've got the players here.
"We just have to get our confidence back and our skills up and not make so many basic errors.
"It only comes through hard work."
Richardson added that the club was not entering a rebuilding phase despite its poor start to the season.
"(We're) certainly not rebuilding, but we know we need to improve, we know that we needed to move on from some of the mature-age talent that we brought in during the compromised draft," he said.
"We know we've needed to take the next step and, clearly, that next step needs to come a bit quicker now with the position that we're in.
"But that certainly doesn't mean that in round six we're throwing the white flag up and saying the season's over."
- with AAP
