with Dr Peter Larkins

Doc Larkins, footy's first and most respected media medico, gives his take on the injury lists of all 18 AFL clubs. He writes exclusively every week for AFL.com.au.

The Doc says: With the advantage of the week off, even though Suban was subbed out of the qualifying final, it's unlikely he'll be limited and should be able to train freely this week. Johnson has missed since round 22 but is now in week four so I'd expect that his calf should be ready - he'll have to get through a training session to convince them but he should come in. Ibbotson remains an outside chance – he's had the long-term Achilles issue and I wouldn't expect they'd put him in for a prelim.  
 

The Doc says: Enright won't play this week and will only be considered an extreme outside chance to come up if Geelong gets through with his medial ligament. Rivers was subbed out in the semi-final but that was precautionary and I'd expect him to be available for selection this weekend. I would expect Caddy to be available to play on the weekend after he missed the semi-final because the Cats were being cautious. I thought Hawkins did enough last week to show he's capable of playing with the chronic back condition, and unless there is a setback this week, I'd expect him to play.
 

The Doc says: The Hawks are in really good shape and also have the advantage of having the week off. Any concern about Rioli would have been dismissed by having the extra week and really, there was no other candidate likely to come back. They're in a good position with a healthy list and the availability of Rioli only adds to their strengths.
 

The Doc says: The Swans have the biggest concerns after they picked up some new injuries from Saturday night. Tippett is the disappointing one because they were confident after the match he was going to recover from the strain of the ligaments in his fibular joint on the lateral side of his knee. McVeigh had a similar injury the week before and they got him up pretty well but the Swans have conceded Tippett won't be risked this week. He was a little bit sore before the match and suffered an aggravation early in the game, which is the difference. He's a big loss and based on normal recovery I'd expect him to be available should the Swans go through. Mitchell has required ankle reconstruction surgery following the nasty injury from the weekend and won't be available. McGlynn, who developed calf soreness after the qualifying final and missed the semi-final, would only be a 50-50 chance and would need to impress at training this week. O'Keefe had a minor ankle scare in the last minute of the game but pulled up well the day after and will be available to play. Roberts-Thomson hasn't played seniors since he needed an arthroscope for patella and cartilage problems after round three. He returned to the NEAFL last week but will be well below senior match conditioning. Jetta has benefited from playing the extra time and his shin soreness was less this week than it was after the previous week's game.