RICHMOND forward Jack Riewoldt is set to miss four weeks after injuring his wrist during Thursday night's disappointing loss to Collingwood.
Scans revealed Riewoldt ruptured a ligament in his wrist and also has a small undisplaced fracture of his radius bone.
He will not need surgery but will wear a splint on his wrist for a fortnight.
WATCH Riewoldt lands awkwardly
"While we're disappointed that Jack will be unavailable for a period of time, we're fortunate that his injury wasn't more severe," Richmond's general manager of football Neil Balme said.
The 30-year-old returned to the field and even spent time in the ruck after landing awkwardly on his right arm during the second quarter of the 44-point loss.
He consistently went back and forth from the club's dressing rooms, having the injury taped midway through the match, but did see out the contest to finish with 11 disposals.
"It's obviously sore," Riewoldt told reporters on Friday morning after scans, before going on to Epworth Hospital for consultation.
"I don't know too much, I just had a scan. I had a chat to (Collingwood defender) Lynden Dunn while I was in there, so I could be in a much worse position. There's obviously guys at the moment that are struggling with major knee injuries, but it is what it is."
Riewoldt, who was also sporting a compression bandage on his left knee, said he didn't believe he had caused further damage by returning to the field.
"We play footy for a reason, we love playing a team sport. You don't want to let your team down … it was my call."
The incredibly durable key forward has missed just nine games since the start of 2008.
Richmond plays GWS (Giants Stadium), Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Sydney (Marvey Stadium) and Melbourne (MCG) in the next month.
PIES DOMINATE TIGERS Full match details and stats
The Tigers were holding their breath that Riewoldt wouldn't join star defender Alex Rance on the long-term injury list, after the five-time All Australian backman ruptured his ACL in round one.
The last time Richmond fielded a side without at least one of the key position bookends was round nine, 2009, when Terry Wallace was in his last weeks in charge.
RICH have not played a game without at least one of Jack Riewoldt or Alex Rance in the side since Round 9, 2009
— Swamp (@sirswampthing) March 28, 2019
@Richmond_FC @AFL
NO RANCE, NO CHANCE Tigers fail first test without star defender
Hardwick said he was hopeful Richmond's disappointing loss to Collingwood will be the "kick in the backside" it needs to kickstart a slow opening to the year.
The Tigers were outbattled by the Pies on Thursday night, going down by more than seven goals after recording their lowest tackle count in more than three years during the defeat.
Jack Riewoldt tests his wrist after landing awkwardly on Thursday night. Picture: AFL Photos
It was one of a number of statistical categories where the Tigers were well beaten throughout the night, with Hardwick describing the loss as an "un-Richmond-like" performance.
The 2017 premiers also finished -23 in contested ball and -154 in uncontested ball, with Hardwick putting the heat on his players to respond ahead of next week's interstate trip to face Greater Western Sydney.
WATCH Damien Hardwick's full post-match media conference
"We look back to round two last year and we got obliterated by Adelaide," Hardwick said.
"You learn most from your losses, so I'd rather get that kick in the backside now so we can get to work and start to get back to the Richmond style of footy that we know and love.
"It certainly wasn't there tonight, which is incredibly disappointing.
"With all of the people that showed up, we put in a performance that was un-Richmond-like."