Mindful of his luckless run with injury dating back a number of years, Geelong are determined to take no risks with Mitch Clark.
But coach Chris Scott remains hopeful that Clark and fellow athletic tall Rhys Stanley will push for recalls in Friday night's big MCG clash with Collingwood.
The Cats will need to make at least one forced change, with triple premiership star James Kelly to miss at least a month after rupturing a testicle against Richmond on Saturday.
Clark (foot soreness) and Stanley (hamstring tightness) both missed the narrow nine-point win over the Tigers.
Clark quit Melbourne and the AFL early last year due to clinical depression and a run of serious injuries, most notably to his right foot, which cruelled much of his 2012 and 2013 campaigns.
When he changed his mind about retirement, the 27-year Clark was snapped up by the Cats in the trade period in October.
The good news this time was that Clark experienced discomfort in his left foot, rather than the right one where he had suffered a Lisfranc joint injury during his time with the Demons.
Scott said Clark - who has been limited to just 101 senior games in more than nine seasons - probably felt he could have played against Richmond, only to be ruled out by the medical staff.
"We want Mitch to be a long-term player for us, not one who just comes in and papers over cracks in the short term," Scott said on Tuesday.
"Hopefully that decision-making means he's a better chance to play well this week and if he doesn't quite come up this week then he plays well the next week.
"We were really clear with Mitch when he came in that our priority was for him to come and be a long-term player for us.
"We were well aware of the problems he had had with his body in the past."
Kelly will miss at least a month recovering from the ruptured testicle.
Geelong suffered two other serious injuries to experienced players in the VFL last weekend.
Injury-plagued former North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh faces up to two months on the sidelines after tearing a calf tendon, while utility Billie Smedts will be out of action for a similar period with a broken collarbone.
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