North Melbourne tagger Ben Jacobs faces an uphill battle to play again this year as he continues to battle a concussion issue.
The Kangaroos have decided to give Jacobs a rest from training in the hope that he can finally overcome his neck and head problems.
Jacobs has played just once since round 12, and has been a late withdrawal on three occasions because of concussion issues
Kangaroos coach Brad Scott hopes the complete break from physical work will give Jacobs the time he needs to make a full recovery.
But with just five rounds of the season remaining and the Kangaroos no guarantee to play finals, it means Jacobs may not be seen again this year.
As it stands, Jacobs' stint on the sidelines has been listed as indefinite.
"There is an amount of evidence that suggests that light cardiovascular work can improve concussion symptoms, but that hasn't been the case with Ben," Scott said.
"So we've taken the decision that we're just going to rest him completely until he has zero concussion symptoms before we do some light cardiovascular work.
"When that will be, hopefully it's not too far away. The risk is then that he needs to be reloaded again in terms of playing.
"But as far as I'm concerned until we get his head and neck right the rest doesn't matter. We'll just get that right first."
Jacobs played a key role in North's strong early-season form, shutting down star midfielders such as Dustin Martin, Patrick Cripps, and Tom Mitchell.
Scott confirmed he would hand a debut to midfielder Will Walker in Sunday's crunch clash with West Coast at Blundstone Arena.
And he's hopeful forward Mason Wood will be able to return from a hamstring injury.
North Melbourne (9-8) sit a game and percentage adrift of the top eight, and will probably need to win four of their remaining five games to make the finals.
