AFL: All the injury news from Round 21

Collingwood will have to cope without Jordan De Goey for the rest of the season - while the Blues are sweating on the fitness of Adam Cerra.

Collingwood looks set to turn to premiership midfielder Patrick Lipinski to help replace injured superstar Jordan De Goey for their must-win blockbuster against Sydney Swans.

In a massive blow to the Magpies, De Goey was on Sunday ruled out for the remainder of the season after scans confirmed a high-grade hamstring strain involving his tendon.

The club confirmed De Goey required a 10-12 week recovery to repair his hamstring, ending a season which had been also heavily limited by a persistent groin problem.

De Goey played largely deep forward due to the groin injury in the thrilling win over Carlton but will now set his sights on getting his hamstring and groin right in preparation for next season.

His absence will mean Lipinski will likely step into a key midfield role as the Magpies attempt to topple Sydney (SCG), Brisbane (MCG) and Melbourne (MCG) to secure a finals berth.

Jordan De Goey after injuring his hamstring on Saturday night. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

And Carlton’s Adam Cerra could also be sidelined until finals after he went down with another hamstring injury, opening up a spot in the best-22 for Matthew Kennedy.

Superstar forward Charlie Curnow also faces a light week on the track in a bid to recover from an ankle problem in time for the clash against Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday.

Lipinski, who started as sub on Saturday night, has been quieter in the second half of the season but could play a key role over the next few weeks as the club attempts to keep its back-to-back premiership dream alive.

Importantly, he has the running power and polish to be a threat from the centre square.

Ball magnet Lachie Sullivan will also push for selection as the sub or in place for Ned Long against a Sydney team which was pummelled by 112 points by Port Adelaide on Saturday night.

The Blues are bracing to be without Adam Cerra for a period of time. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images.

A win over Sydney Swans would provide an enormous boost for the Magpies and catapult the club back into premiership contention after a disappointing second-half of the season losing four s-straight games from Round 17-20.

Hawthorn could leapfrog Carlton inside the eight if the Hawks can pull off an upset win over the Blues in a shoot-out for finals positions.

The Blues have lost four of their past five games after Mitch McGovern’s after-the-siren set shot drifted wide to hand the win to the Magpies in Scott Pendelbury’s 400th game.

St Kilda great Leigh Montagna said the Blues’ best football was among the best in the league, but conceded the team had dropped off recently.

“There is just inconsistencies with the little things, like sometimes their ball use, sometimes they bomb it in and hope for (Charlie) Curnow and (Harry) McKay to mark it when they are not playing well,” Montagna said on Triple M.

“At times defensively they have lapses. Individually I question them to be able to defend other than (Jacob) Weitering.

“Their best is as good as anyone’s, like a lot of the top teams.

“But if either (Patrick) Cripps and (Sam) Walsh are off, or Curnow and McKay are off I don’t know if there is enough there for them to find other ways to win.”

Collingwood defender Billy Frampton kept Curnow goalless on Saturday night for the first time in 67 games for Curnow. He had nine touches for the match.

MAY CLEARED OF SERIOUS INJURY

Melbourne defender Steven May has been cleared of serious internal injury after being taken to hospital during Friday night’s match against the Western Bulldogs.

The Demons last night confirmed that May was recovering at home after suffering broken ribs in a heavy second-quarter collision with Bulldogs forward Laitham Vandermeer.

It is the second time this season that May has fractured ribs, with the backman missing one game after a clash with Hawthorn’s Mabior Chol in round 2.

Steven May has been cleared of serious injury after this hit on Friday night. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

“Pleasingly, there are no internal or underlying issues related to the injury. Steven has since been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home,” Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson said.

“The injury he sustained is to the same ribs he injured earlier in the year. The club’s medical team will continue to monitor Steven closely, with a return-to-play timeline to be determined in the coming days.

“Steven’s well-being is our main priority, and we will support him through his recovery.”

The Demons host Port Adelaide at the MCG next Saturday night.

THE HORROR START THAT COST DEES IN BULLDOG DEMOLITION

Another horror start proved costly for the Demons, with Goodwin left to lament a lack of “grit and determination” from his struggling side.

At quarter-time, Tom Liberatore had three clearances to his name – the same number as the entire Demons side – and the Bulldogs led the count 14-3.

While Melbourne eventually evened up the clearances (37-41) and contested possessions (135-135), it could not contain the Bulldogs’ slick ball movement which generated 65 inside-50s and 41 shots on goal.

“They dominated us around the ball and were able to score way too easily,” Goodwin said.

“So (we’re) incredibly frustrated with how we started the game and in patches we were able to bring that back into the game that we were looking for. But, overall, (we were) just nowhere near the level required to beat a team that’s in very, very, very good form.

“That’s the bottom line. We just weren’t up to that level tonight.”

Jack Viney recorded a season-low 13 disposals and 38 ranking points, but Goodwin denied the gun midfielder was battling injury.

“Not that I’m aware of, no,” he said.

Goodwin says Viney doesn’t have an injury. Picture: Getty Images

The Demons sent Tom Sparrow to Marcus Bontempelli after quarter-time to try and quell his influence, but the Bulldogs skipper was largely unstoppable as he drove his side to a 51-point win.

“He’s, if not the best, one of the best,” Goodwin said when asked if Bontempelli was the best player in the competition right now.

“Tom held in there for the majority of the night, did a reasonable job, especially in the second half. But he just got away from us. He’s a high-quality player and if you went through all their midfield group right now, you could mount a case to spend some time tagging every single one of them. They’re in that good of form.”

Originally published as AFL: All the injury news from Round 21