Selwood spent a couple of days staying with Lions vice captain Daniel Merrett and his wife to make sure he suffered no ill effects, but so far he’s been in no condition to return to the training paddock and is still suffering from some back stiffness.
“Even yesterday he wasn’t looking in a state to take to the track today,” Lions assistant coach Justin Leppitsch said.
“Early on in the week you would say it’s unlikely (that he’ll play) but concussion things can come up quickly.
“Later on in the week once his head clears and everything feels good he might be right to play but earlier on in the week you tend to feel a little bit drowsy and out of it.”
Selwood’s likely absence may not open the door for goal sneak Rhan Hooper to return, despite his four goal haul in the reserves after a month out with an ankle injury.
Leppitsch said Hooper probably needed more time in the reserves.
“Ideally we would like to keep Rhan going and gaining his fitness for another few weeks,” Leppitsch said.
“He played on the weekend and did okay but as far as playing at his best, as far as running and spreading, he just didn’t have the match fitness on the weekend.”
Leppitsch said the Lions learnt a valuable lesson when they brought ruckman Jamie Charman into the side at the start of the year when he was well short on match fitness and would not make the same mistake again.
“We had him playing reserves a couple of weeks later because he wasn’t fit,” Leppitsch said.
“We made the mistake of bringing an unfit player back early and he underperformed because the coaches were thinking of his best performances and thinking he would emulate that, when realistically he didn’t have the fitness capacity.”
Pearce Hanley and Matt Austin are potential replacements for Selwood.
Both have spent time as emergencies in recent weeks, just like 20-year-old Sam Sheldon, who has been given his chance and is relishing playing at the top level.
“We’ve introduced Sam Sheldon into the side and I thought the second half of his game on the weekend was really good,” Leppitsch said.
“It’s good to see our younger players are playing well and have been on the emergency list for a couple of weeks, which means if they do play they are going to be ready.”
