Melbourne have revealed veteran midfielder Jordan Lewis had played most of Sunday's heavy loss to Hawthorn with a fractured finger.
The former Hawk was criticised as one of several players who failed to impose themselves on the lopsided contest at the MCG.
But the Demons have revealed he had been playing under significant duress.
"Jordy suffered a fracture to his hand - his fourth finger - in the second quarter, so he's actually done really well to play the rest of the game," performance manager Dave Misson said on Tuesday.
"But unfortunately, he'll miss the Richmond game.
"He had surgery (on Monday) and had a plate put in that hand. We're hoping he's only going to miss one (game), but maybe a little bit longer than that.
"We think he's a pretty good healer and the surgeon was happy with what he did."
The 31-year-old will miss the Anzac Day eve clash with the Tigers at the MCG, and is in doubt for the round-six match against Essendon.
Important defender Neville Jetta was also injured during the 67-point loss. He he has escaped without serious damage, however, and will undergo a fitness test.
"It was pretty ugly ... he was lucky to get out of it with just a minor ankle problem," Misson said.
"He's pulled up pretty well and he's had a lot of swelling, but (he's had) just a bit of soreness in and around that area.
"We'll just assess Nev later in the week ... we expect him to be available."
Co-captain Jack Viney is still three to four weeks away from resuming from the foot injury that had hampered him throughout the pre-season.
