Injury-plagued Geelong forward Cory Gregson will undergo more foot surgery, ending his AFL season.
Cats coach Chris Scott confirmed on Monday night that the forward has had another setback with the navicular bone fracture in his left foot.
It is the fourth operation Gregson has had to fix the problem.
"You'd make a strong argument that a navicular injury is more serious than an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament)," Scott told Fox Footy's AFL360.
Gregson had played 10 AFL games this season, but has been out of the side since round 13.
Scott also said he is awaiting word on Nakia Cockatoo, who suffered a knee injury in the first 10 minutes of his return through the VFL.
Cockatoo is another Cats player who has a bad run of injuries. He has only played two senior games this season.
Lincoln McCarthy (hamstring) is another highly-rated Geelong player out of action.
"Those guys walk into our team at their best," Scott said.
The Cats coach remains confident about their prospects this season, despite losing three of their last four games and holding eighth spot only on percentage.
"If we get our best players playing their best footy, and we get a bit of momentum, I'm just supremely confident we can win every week," Scott said.
"I don't think we need to be a team that relies on five players pulling us over the line - it's more our mid-range players who we think have more growth in them.
"We might not be a really dominant team right at the moment, but neither are the others.
"Have we got some holes? Yep. But I see them in other teams as well."
