Richmond have escaped better than first feared from a NAB Challenge dust-up with Port Adelaide which they wanted called off early.
The Tigers played with 15 men and were left with one fit player on the bench in the last quarter of Thursday night's match at Etihad Stadium.
But scans on Friday showed forward Shane Edwards had suffered only severe bruising and nerve swelling in his left shoulder, rather than a broken collarbone.
Edwards remains in contention to return for the March 24 season-opener against Carlton, along with midfielder Jacob Townsend, who was taken off on a stretcher after being concussed.
The two significant casualties from the 48-point loss to Port Adelaide were luckless utility Reece Conca, who will be sidelined for at least eight weeks after straining his right hamstring, and midfielder Shaun Grigg, who will miss a month with a broken left thumb.
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But it all looked much worse on Thursday night, so much so that coach Damien Hardwick requested an early end to the last quarter only to be denied by AFL football operations manager Mark Evans, who cited broadcast issues.
The coach responded by giving his quickly tiring players as much rest as he could by going three men down in the dying minutes of the game.
The move made for farcical scenes as Port ran way with the contest, but Hardwick was unapologetic.
"I'm here to put our best side forward for round one and win that game - I'm not here to win NAB three," he said.
"Our players hadn't had a rotation for a quarter, we had a number of players cramping, so we thought we'd just get them off and then send them back on if they're OK.
"It was a tough night at the office for us, we lost some really good players, but we'll see how we go."
Brett Deledio, who has managed ongoing achilles and calf issues this pre-season, played the first half as planned then watched on from the bench.
On Friday morning, Richmond football boss Dan Richardson said the club enquired about calling the game off early but never asked formally.
"Our duty is to protect the welfare of our players," he said.
"At times, that might mean a game like last night, at the end, the spectacle probably dropped off."
In further dramas for the Tigers, the father of star midfielder Dustin Martin has been reportedly threatened with deportation over his links to bikie gangs but Richardson said it was purely a matter for police.
"We'll support Dustin and hopefully he'll be fine," he said.
