RICHMOND captain Trent Cotchin has been ruled out for Saturday night's do-or-die clash against the Sydney Swans as he recovers from a fractured cheekbone.
Cotchin had been expected to return after one match on the sidelines, but coach Damien Hardwick said the midfielder had not received approval from his surgeon and would miss the crucial clash at the MCG.
"He hasn't got the tick off from the surgeon as of yet, so he has got another week on the sidelines," Hardwick said on Thursday.
"We were hoping he would be available to play but, unfortunately, the healing process does take a bit of time.
"To be more safe than sorry, we'll give him that extra week to recover."
Hardwick said Cotchin, who played through the injury for the majority of the Tigers' round five loss to Port Adelaide, had pushed to play.
His absence will reduce the 1-6 Tigers' chances of an upset win against the fancied Swans as they desperately try to get their season back on track.
"We've got to be confident that when he's out there he can perform his duties as good as he can," Hardwick said.
"We're a little bit reluctant to put him out there when it hasn't quite healed as well as we'd like.
"The player will always put their hand up to play, they're courageous, especially Trent.
"But we need the surgeon's tick off and we haven't got that as of yet."
In other selection news, the Tigers have all but ruled out ruckman Ivan Maric, who was dropped for last week's clash against Hawthorn and struggled to have an impact around the ground at VFL level.
Hardwick said the vice-captain, who suffered a pre-season back injury, was an important player for the Tigers but needed to play more minutes before breaking back into the senior team.
"He's a bit of a work horse … he needs the games under his belt to play to the level we know he can and he's a warrior by nature," the coach said.
"He just hasn't had the workload he requires. Plus we think Shaun (Hampson) is giving us some good dominance around the clearances."
Gun defender Alex Rance returns for the Tigers just in time for a head-to-head battle with Swans superstar Lance Franklin, who has kicked 29 goals this season, including 11 in his past two matches.
The Tigers will also consider selecting Dylan Grimes after putting the defender through a rigorous training block in the past fortnight, while half-back Reece Conca will play three quarters in the VFL.
Grimes has missed five matches with a hamstring injury, while Conca has not played since suffering a serious hamstring injury in the Tigers' final NAB Challenge clash against Port Adelaide.
Hardwick reiterated his belief that the Tigers were on the verge of a drought-breaking win, which would make their finals dream possible despite a horror start to the season.
When asked if he had put a line through finals, the coach said: "Absolutely not, not from my point of view".
"We have done it (revived our season) previously. We're further back than we would have liked, but it's a very even competition," he said.
"At this stage though that's all words, that's all talk, so we look forward to some actions on the weekend from our boys.
"I have got enormous faith in this group. They've delivered for me before and I've got no doubt they'll deliver for me again.
"A win would do great things for this footy club."
Hardwick said recruit Chris Yarran was progressing through his rehab from the foot surgery he underwent in March, but the club was unsure when he would return.
"It can turn quickly or it can take a bit of time," Hardwick said.
"We're not sure at this stage when that will happen but he's progressing through his rehab."
