Carlton dealt massive blow ahead of Bulldogs showdown

Carlton has been dealt a blow ahead of their showdown with the Western Bulldogs, with a key big man ruled out.

Carlton coach Michael Voss says the club will “wrap our arms around” forward Harry McKay and the winless Blues have not put a timeframe on his return.

The former Coleman Medallist was absent from last week’s loss to Hawthorn and the club confirmed that he will again miss Friday’s showdown with the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium.

After a leave of absence, he returned to training on Wednesday; however, the Blues said he would miss another week.

“He was dealing with a few things during the week. He took some time away from the club but obviously felt best that he doesn’t play this week,” Voss said on Thursday.

“So (the club gave) him the space that he needs to be able to work through a few things and not necessarily put a timeframe on it, but hopefully he’ll be back soon.”

Harry McKay has been ruled out for Friday night’s game. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

The club said in a statement that McKay’s wellbeing remained the focus of their attention.

The Blues are winless to start the year and said McKay was no guarantee to return in round four.

McKay booted one goal and one behind, as well as racking up 14 possessions, in Carlton’s round 1 loss to Richmond.

“It’s always player over performance in terms of just being able to look after the person first and that’s the position we’ve taken,” Voss said.

“And so he’ll get the support he needs. As a footy club we wrap our arms around him, as I hope the whole football industry does.

“We’ll give him the time that he needs and then we obviously focus on the football.”