PORT Adelaide will have to take on Essendon without its full-back and centre-half back, with coach Ken Hinkley ruling out Alipate Carlile and Jackson Trengove with injury for up to three weeks.
Trengove (ankle) was substituted out of the Power's loss to Adelaide on Sunday at half-time, while Carlile finished the game with a hamstring injury.
"They won't play this week," Hinkley told Talking Footy on SevenMate on Monday night.
"They probably won't play for two or three weeks to be honest and that's going to leave a significant hole for us."
The Power's draw over the next three weeks is relatively gentle, with their clash against Essendon at the Adelaide Oval this Saturday night followed by games against Richmond (Etihad Stadium) and Melbourne (Adelaide Oval).
Hinkley is also hopeful that Port has ready-made replacements for Carlile and Trengove in young key defenders Tom Clurey and Cam O'Shea.
Hinkley said Clurey and O'Shea had been in "pretty good form" with the Port Magpies in the SANFL this season and deserved senior call-ups.
"They've been strong all year, they've probably just been waiting for an opportunity and that opportunity now presents itself with a couple of injuries to their teammates," Hinkley said.
"I'm sure they'll know they've got an opportunity, they'll come in and hopefully they'll get two or three weeks where they play really solid football.
"The key ingredient for them is that after that two or three weeks they demand to stay in the side."
Both Clurey and O'Shea were named in the Magpies' best in their win over second-placed Sturt at the weekend.
