SIMON Goodwin was not prepared to speculate on the extent of Max Gawn's knee injury but said losing his captain took an emotional toll on the Demons in their 11-point loss to Brisbane.
Gawn went down in the opening minutes of Friday night's loss after Jack Viney fell across his left knee following a ruck contest.
The six-time All-Australian went straight to Melbourne's dressing room to be assessed and took no further part in the game.
Goodwin said Gawn would have the knee scanned.
"We'll just have to wait and see on that," he said.
LIONS v DEMONS Full match coverage and stats
"Next question is probably going to be about worst-case scenario? It'd be unfair to go down that pathway. I don't want his family to be sitting home thinking he's done his knee.
"We need to get further scans and assess that.
"So, we're unsure, but you know it takes a toll on the team when you lose your skipper early in the game like that."
Following Gawn's departure, Melbourne was thrashed around the stoppages by Brisbane, losing the clearance count 60-32, including a 20-10 deficit at centre clearances that allowed the hosts to camp inside their forward 50 for much of the first quarter.
Collingwood recruit Brodie Grundy suddenly had to play greater ruck minutes and could be in for even more work if Gawn is ruled out for a period of time.
"He's missed 12 months of footy," Goodwin said.
"I thought his second half was pretty strong, he took a big step forward again tonight.
"He's going to have to shoulder a bit of responsibility depending on Max, so I'm sure he's the type of ruckman that will relish that opportunity."
Goodwin confirmed full-back Steven May would be a certain starter next weekend after being a late withdrawal after failing to overcome a calf complaint.
Meanwhile, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan was beaming with his team's performance, saying he was far more interested in what happened prior to the game being halted for 40 minutes due to a power outage than what happened in the final 15 minutes.
At that stage the Lions led by 40 points, but on resumption gave up five unanswered goals.
"I felt like we played so well for three-and-a-half quarters, and to be honest I felt like we had Melbourne on the ropes," Fagan said.
"That little break, there's nothing to lose for the team that's behind in that situation, so psychologically that was an advantage to them, and they did it well, get credit them, but that was a little unexpected bonus for them I reckon."
Father-son draftee Will Ashcroft was magnificent in just his second game, leading the Lions in disposals (31) and joining Josh Dunkley with a team-high nine clearances.
"He's a fine young footballer," Fagan said.
"He can find the ball and he can set things up for us. If he can get somewhere near that most weeks that'd be terrific result from a first-year player, but there's a long way in the season to go."
