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Cats' Duncan likely out until AFL finals

Shayne HopeAAP
The Cats' Tom Hawkins suffered a possible pinched nerve in his neck against the Western Bulldogs.
Camera IconThe Cats' Tom Hawkins suffered a possible pinched nerve in his neck against the Western Bulldogs. Credit: AAP

Flag aspirants Geelong are set to be without Mitch Duncan for the run towards the AFL finals after the star midfielder sustained a "high-grade" posterior cruciate ligament injury.

Duncan hurt his right knee in a marking contest during the opening stages of Friday night's thrilling five-point win over the Western Bulldogs.

The 30-year-old failed a fitness test on the boundary line and was replaced by medical substitute Shaun Higgins.

Geelong medical staff will monitor the early stages of Duncan's recovery in the coming days and are yet to confirm the full extent of the injury.

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But teammate Tom Hawkins on Saturday indicated Duncan could miss the rest of the home-and-away season as the third-placed Cats ramp up their flag bid.

"I saw Mitch this morning, he seemed to think that his scan came back and it was a high-grade PCL," Hawkins told Triple M Perth.

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"So Mitch is going to miss a bit of footy, unfortunately.

"He's had a wretched run the last 18 months (and) that's sort of 8-10 weeks, I think, but every individual is different.

"He's really important for us, Mitch, so hopefully he gets back soon."

Geelong spearhead Hawkins hurt his neck during the final quarter of a bruising encounter with and spent an extended period on the bench when the result hung in the balance.

But the veteran goalkicker is confident he will be fit to take on fellow top-four side Brisbane at the Gabba on Thursday night.

"It's been pretty uncomfortable the last 12 hours," Hawkins said.

"I should be right. I think it's one of those things that should settle down in the next 24-48 hours."

Lachie Henderson will likely return against Brisbane after the tall defender was a late withdrawal from the Bulldogs clash because of a hip injury.

Geelong believe they will be able to travel to Queensland and stay overnight, rather than conducting a fly-in, fly-out mission like they did for the Port Adelaide match in round 13.

"Given the fact that we're in a regional area that hasn't had a COVID case for almost a year, as long as people don't go to Melbourne, we're OK to fly into Queensland as everyone from regional Victoria is," Cats coach Chris Scott said post-match on Friday night.

"(We'll be under) AFL protocols, obviously, but we can spend a couple of days up there as Queenslanders."

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