WESTERN Bulldogs forward Stewart Crameri has re-injured his troublesome hip and will be sidelined for at least a month.
But it's not all bad news for the Dogs with with Bob Murphy, Travis Cloke, Jordan Roughead and Mitch Wallis all in the mix to return for Friday night's match against Geelong,.
Crameri appeared hampered in the VFL over the past fortnight, and coach Luke Beveridge said the hard-running forward would require surgery to fix the problem that's allowed him to play just two senior games this season.
Lured from Essendon on a lucrative four-year deal at the end of 2013, the 28-year-old has battled indifferent form in his time at Whitten Oval.
Match preview: Geelong v Western Bulldogs
"Stewie Crameri is going to some surgery next Monday, so he won't be available for probably a month or so," Beveridge said on Tuesday.
It's just a little bit of a clean out. It's just been impeding him a little bit and giving him a fraction of grief.
"Hopefully that will help free him up and in the back end of the year he'll find best form."
All Australian defender Dale Morris is almost a certain starter for the Bulldogs' clash with Geelong on Friday night, after recovering from a broken leg.
The 34-year-old sustained the injury in the round-one win over Collingwood, and Beveridge said the reliable veteran would be a welcome addition to the eighth-place Dogs if selected.
Key forward Cloke (ribs) is also a chance to return, as is goal sneak Tory Dickson from an abdominal strain.
Ruckman Roughead is likely to spend another week in the VFL in his return from a serious hamstring injury, but could be called upon to face the Cats.
Wallis will also be considered for the Simonds Stadium clash after three impressive weeks at state-league level since returning from a badly broken leg.
With the Dogs not having beaten the Cats since 2009, Beveridge will have a different type of selection headache this week as he plans for the club's first win in Geelong since 2003.
"It's probably the most (fit players) we've had for a quite a while," he said.
"One week it's like this, the next week who knows? It's always a trade off with boys coming back.
"Have they got the match fitness? (Are) they acclimatising to the level, especially players who have been out for a while like Dale?
"So we need to make studious and informed decisions around (selection) to make sure we go in fit and healthy and ready to be our best."
For the second year running, the Dogs will stay the night before the game on the Bellarine Peninsula to avoid the traffic snarls of driving to Geelong in peak hour.
While he refused to divulge the location of where the team will bunk down, Beveridge said the practice was a logistical one.
'It just makes sense, so we'll do that again and we felt it worked for us last year," he said.
"Our performance was OK, and in the end it allows us to take control of (the trip) and know that our 22 players are down there and we don't have to worry about a staggered arrival."
