On the day the Cats revealed Matthew Egan would miss the rest of 2008, there was mixed news regarding two of the club’s other big names – Ottens and marquee midfielder Gary Ablett.
While Ablett (calf) is a chance to take on Richmond at the MCG on Saturday, Geelong fans hoped Ottens would play his first match of the season in the round eight encounter.
However Thompson poured cold water on the idea when asked about the towering No.6, who is battling plantar fasciitis in a foot.
“Ottens won’t play,” Thompson said.
“He hasn’t progressed really that much.
“He gets to a point where he can’t get any further.”
Like Egan, Thompson said the Cats weren’t rushing and had “no finish line” for a return date.
“We don’t know [when he’ll be back],” he said.
“We said he’d pretty much be right for this game but he’s not going to be right.”
Ablett’s calf, however, is responding at a better rate and might come up in time for Saturday’s clash.
“He’s got to tick a few boxes yet but he’s not being ruled out at this stage,” Thompson said of his match-winner.
“He ran yesterday, he did some strides, and he’ll do more tomorrow afternoon and then we’ll see how he pulls up.
“He’d be a 50-50 chance, 60-40 to play.”
Mathew Stokes will miss Saturday’s clash due to suspension, with Thompson naming Travis Varcoe, Shannon Byrnes and Brent Prismall as frontrunners to come into the side to replace the talented forward.
