Geelong is breathing a sigh of relief after learning on Monday that the knee injury sustained by No.1 ruckman Brad Ottens is nowhere near as bad as first thought.
Ottens, who injured his knee in a ruck contest during the Cats' second round win over Richmond on Saturday, may be back within a month after scans revealed only a slight medial ligament strain.
After originally saying Ottens could miss up to six matches, the Cats have now listed his time on the sidelines as between only two to four matches.
While that rules the 29-year-old veteran of 206 matches out of Thursday night's Round 3 blockbuster against Collingwood and the trip to Adelaide the following week, Ottens could be back as early as the Round 5 home clash with Brisbane.
But at worst he is likely to return in Round 7 against Sydney, the week after the Cats face lowly Melbourne at the MCG.
Ottens, whose starring role in the narrow 2007 preliminary final win over Collingwood was crucial in ending the Cats' 44 year premiership drought, missed the first nine matches last season due to a foot injury.
Despite Ottens' importance to the Cats, the team remained unbeaten during the period he was sidelined last year as youngsters Trent West (six games) and Shane Mumford (three games) were given their first taste of senior action as the club's back-up ruckman to Mark Blake, who will again assume the No.1 rucking role in Ottens' absence.
The Cats are again likely to turn to either West or Mumford to help Blake in the absence of Ottens, starting with Thursday night's MCG clash against the Pies.
Geelong is also hoping to regain forwards Mathew Stokes and Tom Lonergan this week after both were absent against the Tigers on Saturday due to general soreness while defender David Johnson could also be in line for selection after missing the first two games due to a hamstring strain.
However the news is not so good for the club's top draft pick from last year in Mitch Brown, who will miss the entire season after it was revealed on Monday that he broke the fibula in his left leg during a VFL practice match on the weekend.