GREATER Western Sydney will be forced to cover the loss of Stephen Coniglio for at least the first month of the season after receiving bad news on his ankle injury.
Coniglio will miss six weeks after twisting his left ankle in a tackle by North Melbourne's Andrew Swallow in Canberra on Friday night.
The absence of the 23-year-old is a huge blow for Leon Cameron's side ahead of the Giants' season opener against Adelaide, and their subsequent meetings with Gold Coast, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide.
Coniglio finished third in the Giants' best and fairest behind Toby Greene last year, was selected in the provisional 40-man All Australian squad, and broke the club record for disposals last season.
If Coniglio's recovery doesn't go to plan, there's also a possibility the gun onballer could miss a Sydney Derby against the Swans in round five, and a preliminary final rematch against the Western Bulldogs the following week.
GWS head of athletic performance David Joyce was hopeful the midfielder would be back earlier than the six-week prognosis.
“We're obviously disappointed for Stephen after he put in a really strong pre-season,” he said.
“He'll spend the next two weeks in a protective boot and progress from there.
“We're confident that with the right treatment he'll be back on the field in a bit over a month.”
The Giants received slightly better news on key defender Aidan Corr, who was also injured against the Kangaroos, with what was initially feared to be a broken hand.
Initial scans revealed Corr suffered an unusual injury to the capsule at the base of his hand after landing awkwardly in the opening quarter.
Corr, who played just three games last year after suffering a serious ankle injury in round three against the Swans at the SCG, will see a hand specialist on Monday to determine the extent of his issue.
Star forward Steve Johnson was another casualty from the North game with concussion, but he's in no doubt for the start of the season.
Meanwhile, veteran recruit Brett Deledio's debut for the club is still very much up in the air with no date set for his return from his troublesome calf injury.
Deledio played just 11 games for Richmond last season because of calf and Achilles problems, and despite training well at his new club before Christmas, has now suffered two minor setbacks in the past two months.
The 29-year-old, who needs just seven games to reach the 250-game mileston, has returned to the Giants after spending a few days in Melbourne last week.
GWS are expected to handle Deledio's latest comeback with extreme caution given his history, despite what's believed to be another minor strain.
