Both were late withdrawals from the Lions’ round seven clash against Geelong at Skilled Stadium on Saturday.
“Simon Black has popped up with the beginnings of osteitis pubis the last week so he’s going to need a few weeks off,” Matthews said.
“It’s the first third of the year. I think if it was the last third of the year, you’d put him out there to play but we’ve got to try to get him over it. He was fairly debilitated the second half of last year with something like that … hopefully he won’t be too much longer but he’s going to need a few weeks not just one.”
However Matthews is hopeful that the injury will not prove long term.
“Once you’ve got it, then it’s months and months and months. But if you can nip it in the bud at the very beginning…the first time he got it was at the end of last week’s game so it’s only just happened, so hopefully we can give it a bit of a spell and he’ll be ok for the last two thirds of the year.”
As for Jonathan Brown’s ailment, Matthews indicated that he would fly back to Brisbane for treatment before returning to Melbourne on Tuesday in the hope of captaining the Victorian team.
“He’s got a quad muscle problem, a kicking quad muscle problem, but it wasn’t right enough to play … He’s captain of the Victorian team so that’s a pretty big honour. I guess if he’s fit and well he’ll play, and if he’s not fit and well he won’t play.”
Matthews insisted he would not have any influence on whether his star player lined up for the Big V.
“It’s not our call on those ones. It’s Browny’s call and the people who pick the side’s call. The club can’t pull players out.”
The coach also stated that Brisbane’s medical staff would not have a say in his participation, instead it would be down to the medical team assigned to the Victorian team.
“Jonathan’s a big boy. He’ll tell them (if he can play),” he said.
Brown is the latest in a string of quad injuries for the Queensland side who were without Irish man Colm Begley also due to a quad problem. Matthews admits that he’s asked the medical staff for reasons for the sudden onslaught.
“Whenever you have a certain injury that seems to affect your team over a period of time, you try and work out what happens and all you end up with is theories.
"Maybe this contributed or that… therefore we adjust the things we do trying to eliminate the most likely causes but I can’t say there’s anything that we’re doing that’s terribly different"
In other injury news for the Lions’ Matthews said that former Melbourne Demon Travis Johnstone is a possibility to return after the week break and Ashley McGrath is also likely face Carlton in two weeks time after he appeared to suffer an ankle complaint in the first quarter.
“He’s hurt an ankle… but he seemed to be able to play the game out so hopefully he’ll be ok.”
