Geelong forward Daniel Menzel feels the Etihad Stadium surface is partly to blame for his latest AFL injury.
Menzel starred in Saturday night's big win over North Melbourne with four goals.
He played out the game despite hurting his ankle during the second quarter.
Menzel will undergo scans and appears likely to miss next Saturday's match against fellow top-four side the Western Bulldogs.
The ground surface is ringed by a narrow strip of artificial turf along the boundary.
It appears Menzel's foot was caught where the grass meets that fake turf.
"The turf obviously goes right up to the ground. I watched it back and both my feet and boots planted into the turf," Menzel told SEN.
"I'm a little bit sore today, but hopefully it doesn't keep me out too much.
"It's obviously one that'll be in the AFL and AFLPA's (players association) hands.
"I'm thankful my ankle did go, because if it didn't it might have been my knee."
Venue management, however, flatly rejected the criticism.
"Etihad Stadium's synthetic turf is AFL approved and its profile meets all AFL standards," acting chief executive Michael Green said via a statement released on Sunday.
"Synthetic turf is used similarly at most major AFL stadiums around Australia."
Menzel missed about three years of football because of four knee reconstructions.
He told K-Rock radio after Saturday night's game that he needed pain relief for his ankle so he could return to the field.
Coach Chris Scott admitted that given Menzel's shocking history of serious knee injuries, he is uneasy whenever the player is injured.
"I don't like it when I see him go down - at least three of his (knee) injuries were pretty innocuous," Scott said.
The Cats coach also has to fight feelings of what might have been with Menzel, given he missed three seasons of football with the reconstructions.
"He was a very, very, very good second-year player when he did his knee for the first time (in late 2011)," Scott said.
"I have to say that I do think about what could have been over the last few years, (but) you try to move on from that pretty quickly.
"I'm looking forward to the next 100 (games), that's for sure."
Share
