Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse is concerned that the club's No.1 ruckman Josh Fraser may never fully recover from the knee injury that's forced him to miss Saturday night's cut-throat semi-final against Adelaide.
But while there may be a query over Fraser's long-term future, Malthouse is hopeful the 27-year-old will return to action as soon as next week should the Magpies get over the Crows.
Fraser underwent surgery in mid-July in a bid to remedy once-and-for-all a knee injury - understood to be posterior cruciate ligament-related - picked up while representing Victoria in last year's Hall of Fame Tribute match which had been troubling him ever since.
Renowned for his mobility, Fraser could only manage 13 disposals and 10 hitouts when opposed to St Kilda veterans Steven King and Michael Gardiner last Sunday, and his inability to back-up just three weeks into his comeback from surgery is not a good sign.
"It's a ruckman's injury and ruckmen that have got that injury, until they retire, they're never going to be able to say categorically - I'm over that injury," said Malthouse.
"It's a ruckman's injury that's going to flare up from time to time when it gets the wrong hit at the wrong time, and that's exactly what took place on the weekend."
Malthouse said, however, that Fraser has made good progress over the past few days and was still in selection contention for a preliminary final berth if the Pies happen to qualify.
"He's so much improved today than what he was two days ago, so we are very hopeful that, if there's a game next week, he'll be available," said Malthouse.