PORT Adelaide will monitor Xavier Duursma over the coming days after the midfielder suffered a head knock during training at Alberton Oval on Wednesday.
Duursma was left looking dazed and left the field before the end of the session after copping a hit in a marking contest.
Port assistant coach Josh Carr said the club would assess his condition in the next few days.
"Obviously, it's precautionary … it could be (a concussion). He looked a bit groggy so we will see how it pans out. We will look after him," Carr told reporters.
"When you're playing matchplay and it's pretty competitive you put yourself out there as a team to have those sorts of incidents, but (he) looks OK."
WINGING IT Duursma rediscovering mojo after off-season reflection
Carr, who played in the club's 2004 premiership, is overseeing the midfield group and said there's plenty of players already impressing him on the training track.
After making successive preliminary finals, Port Adelaide got off to a poor start in 2022 and finished the season in 11th spot with a 10-12 record.
But Carr is optimistic on what the side can achieve this season.
INS AND OUTS Every club's full list changes ahead of 2023
"Willem Drew's been outstanding so far in the pre-season so you've got him and Ollie (Wines) who are the big bulls that are inside, but then you've got a bit of a cross section with Jason (Horne-Francis) and then Connor (Rozee) who has weapons that the others don’t have, (and there’s) Butters as well," he said.
"I’m listing a fair few names but I just think that the balance of the different weapons that they bring to the midfield group (is so good). They're all open to learning and getting better and improving and that's all I want as a midfield coach."
Horne-Francis returned to the training track in December after undergoing surgery on both legs in October to decompress the arteries behind his knees.
"He's just building. I think each session he's just got better and better and he's able to sustain more running and more physicality out there (now)," Carr said.
"Each session more (of his weapons) come out so it's been enjoyable to watch his progress so far. I think everyone's excited (to see him in a Port guernsey). I could hear the crowd every time he got the ball out there today they got pretty excited by it. He’s only a second-year player…he’s been really open to learning and getting better."
Horne-Francis is expected to be available for round one next year despite the restricted start to his pre-season.