COLLINGWOOD key defender Nathan Murphy has been ruled out of the Anzac Day blockbuster against Essendon due to concussion, while key forward Dan McStay could require surgery after suffering a finger injury in the six-point win over St Kilda on Sunday night.
Murphy was floored in an incident involving new St Kilda key forward Anthony Caminiti and came straight off the ground with less than two minutes left on the clock, just before the Saints kicked two more goals to give the Magpies a late fright.
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The 23-year-old directed some pointed words at Caminiti on the interchange bench following the hit that will certainly attract scrutiny from Match Review Officer Michael Christian.
Murphy made the initial contact off the ball to Caminiti's chest, before the Saint appears to make contact with his elbow to the head of the Collingwood defender.
With Jeremy Howe sidelined for the first half of the season with a broken forearm and Collingwood dealing with a ruck crisis that requires Billy Frampton to be used in his former role, the Magpies are going to be short on tall options in defence against the Bombers.
"Murph got concussed, so he’ll be out next week. The doctors have ruled that already," Collingwood coach Craig McRae told reporters on Sunday night.
"I haven't seen the incident, but he has obviously been concussed somehow. We'll get to work on what that looks like; it's not up to us to decide that, but he'll be out next week.
"I was on the bench when he came off. I'm not sure what was said. Don't know if Murph was concussed and didn't know what he was saying, I've got no idea. The reality is he came off and he said something. He was obviously upset about something."
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McStay was substituted out of the game early in the second quarter with a finger tendon injury that is expected to rule him out of one of the most eagerly anticipated Anzac Day fixtures in years, given both sides are 4-1 and in the top-four.
The free agent signing will undergo scans when Collingwood returns to Melbourne, but might require surgical intervention to repair the problem.
"It looks like he’s done a tendon in a finger," McRae said.
"We'll get that scanned and assessed by an expert and then find out what that looks like. It could be operational, most of them tend to be, but we might get lucky."
McRae revealed he learned that Jordan De Goey was in doubt for the game when he woke up on Sunday morning and discovered the superstar midfielder had gastro, before the 27-year-old was a late withdrawal an hour before the first bounce.
"I wake up to my phone and Jordy's got gastro. Not that you want to get gastro, but let's not give it to Jordy," McRae quipped.
"The coaches have been a bit sick this week, (but not the players). I always like to look on the bright side of life: we'll get a fit Jordy back for Anzac Day."
Nathan Kreuger will come into consideration to help combat an Essendon ruck division led by budding star Sam Draper and journeyman ruckman Andrew Phillips.
After recovering from a second shoulder reconstruction inside his first 18 months at the AIA Centre, Kreuger made his return in the VFL on Sunday against Box Hill.
