BILLIE Smedts’ wretched run with injury has continued, with the Geelong defender to be sidelined for up to two months with a broken collarbone.
Smedts suffered the fractured clavicle in Saturday's VFL fixture against Richmond at Punt Road Oval, and he received the bad news when the results of scans came through on Tuesday morning.
The Cats will also be unable to call on the services of ruckman Hamish McIntosh, who is set to miss a similar period of time with a torn tendon in his calf sustained in the same game.
"The good thing is Billie doesn't require surgery," Geelong football manager Steve Hocking told AFL.com.au.
"He's had a good pre-season, but this stuff happens and he'll work his way through it."
The 22-year-old has had a horror injury run since Geelong drafted him with pick No.15 in the 2010 NAB AFL Draft.
Smedts was forced to go in for hip surgery which wiped out almost his entire first season in 2011.
He debuted in round one, 2012, but failed to establish himself in the Cats’ best 22, playing 14 games as he battled inconsistent form.
Smedts was trained in a defensive role in the lead up to 2014, but his campaign was limited to six games after he sustained a broken leg in the Cats' final NAB Challenge game against North Melbourne.
Out of contract at year's end, Smedts knuckled down to produce a fine pre-season and looked to be finally free of the niggles that had dogged him in the past ahead of the 2015 season.
He played in the Cats' first two games against Hawthorn and Fremantle, only to be suspended for one-match for striking Docker Lee Spurr.
Smedts was an emergency for Geelong's round four clash against North Melbourne and only resumed in the VFL against the Tigers at the weekend.
High profile quartet Andrew Mackie (quad), Mathew Stokes (Achilles), Mitch Clark (foot) and Rhys Stanley (hamstring soreness) will all face fitness tests ahead of Friday night's showdown with Collingwood at the MCG.
The Cats are yet to put a timeline on James Kelly's return after he had surgery on a ruptured testicle.
