INSPIRATIONAL Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer will miss Friday night's clash against the Western Bulldogs despite having recovered from his groin injury.
The Blues are concerned Kreuzer has not trained enough, even if the big man believes he's ready to face the Dogs.
"If you ask 'Kreuz', he'll say he's right to play," Carlton coach Brendon Bolton told reporters at Ikon Park on Thursday.
"He's pretty much right to play, however as a club, we're going to make a decision not to play him, just because his training has had no continuity.
"He's feeling pretty good this week, but we just need more training into him, so he'll miss."
Tough midfielder Matthew Kennedy and key defender Caleb Marchbank will return from ankle injuries, while fellow backman Jacob Weitering will again be absent as he deals with a corked thigh suffered a fortnight ago in the loss to North Melbourne.
The Blues had to keep Kreuzer's health in mind.
"Sometimes you've got to protect people like 'Kreuz', because he wants to be out there. He's a warrior," Bolton said.
"His injury's not significant anymore. He's pretty much right, but just no training, so I think our medical team made a decision which is right."
Injured captain Marc Murphy spoke to the group in what Bolton described as a "really strong meeting", reinforcing the message to keep posting little wins, as Carlton did last week against West Coast in patches, even though it lost by 10 points.
Another point Murphy discussed was the momentum swings that proved costly in the clash with the Eagles, especially in time-on.
"A lot of it's just about making calm decisions," Bolton said.
"If you looked at the time-on at the weekend and when they scored, it wasn't massive structural issues or things that we needed to train differently. It was just some decisions we mucked up or some fumbles or missed kicks, and they scored."
Promising key forward Harry McKay booted four goals last Saturday, the 20-year-old's first this season, including a couple in the second quarter within a minute when he snuck behind West Coast's defence.
His final two were from deep in the pocket on the wrong side for a left-footer in the final term.
"I think last week he would've got some confidence, particularly with his goalkicking. One of them was really special, actually," Bolton said.
"A couple of others were cheapies out the back, but every time you hit the scoreboard or you touch the footy in AFL when you're starting out, you get this belief.
"Harry's still got a lot to learn. There's a lot in his game last week that can improve, but it's a really good start point for him and for us as a footy club and him. We hope each week's just a little building block."
Defender Cam O'Shea has passed the concussion tests this week and will be available to play, while fellow backman Alex Silvagni is over his hamstring injury, but is set to miss the next few matches.
"He's had a setback this week. He was right but he's just flared his Achilles slightly, so that's going to be a little bit more delayed unfortunately for us, because he's a mature body and a leader and really experienced," Bolton said.
"He'll be a few more weeks away."
