NORTH Melbourne's gutsy 24-point win against Essendon has come at a considerable cost with Leigh Adams (dislocated left shoulder) likely to miss the rest of the season and Daniel Wells (calf) and Nathan Grima (hamstring tendonitis) in doubt for next round's clash with Collingwood.

Adams' dislocation was the latest in a horror run of shoulder injuries. It occurred during a contest on the wing at the 25-minute mark of the first term, with the North Melbourne midfielder left clutching his left shoulder as he ran from the field.

Adams, who was a late withdrawal from North's team against the Western Bulldogs last round because of problems with the same joint, was substituted out of the game just minutes later.

After the match North coach Brad Scott said Adams' injury was more serious than his litany of others this season, which included a partial right shoulder dislocation in round 16 after Carlton skipper Chris Judd's 'chicken wing' tackle.

"It looks pretty significant this time, not just a little subluxation, it looks a little more significant than that," Scott said.

"[It's] very difficult for us to tell at the moment but the fact that the medical staff got back pretty quickly and said he couldn't come back on [meant] I knew it was more serious than the others."

Earlier, a North Melbourne spokesman confirmed Adams would likely need shoulder surgery.

Meanwhile, Scott said North was unsure of the severity of Wells' calf problem, which, like Adams' injury, forced him out of the game late in the first quarter.

"With a player like him who's so explosive, with even a minor calf you've got to be really careful, so we'll wait and see on," Scott said.

Nathan Grima also spent time off the ground with hamstring tendonitis in the last quarter. But Scott said Grima had been managing that condition for some time and was hopeful it was not significant.

"We're hoping that's just a little bit of inflammation around [what's been] an old issue for him," Scott said.

In better news for North, Scott said forward Lachlan Hansen seemed to have recovered well from his accidental head clash with Essendon's Nathan Lovett-Murray at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter

Hansen came off the worst in the collision, taking a couple of minutes to regain his feet. He walked from the ground with the assistance of two trainers and spent about six minutes off the field.

"Hansen appears fine and the way he finished off the game was just super for us," Scott said.

Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick