Dylan Grimes says Richmond will err on the side of caution with Alex Rance.
The star defender is stepping up his rehabilitation from the ruptured ACL he suffered in Round 1 this season.
Much has been made of Rance’s swift recovery in recent weeks but fellow defender Grimes suggests the Tigers will not risk further injury by bringing him back too soon.
“It’s touch and go to be honest, it’s 50-50,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“Looking at him training, it’s phenomenal the progress he’s made. He’s literally sprinting around the track and changing direction. When you watch him, it looks like he could be pulling on the boots this weekend.
“But it is touch and go because there’s not much time left in the season. I’d love to have him back but I think it would be smart to take a conservative approach with Rancey.
“He’s a long-term player for us and he’s such a valuable player so I’d rather have him for the whole year next year than potentially half a game this year.”
Grimes added: “I think he’s pushing pretty hard to return to play.
“That carrot at the end of the rehab program is what every injured player hangs onto and strives for. I think he’s holding his breath and looking at the calendar closely but he knows that the club doesn’t take any risks and I don’t think he wants to take any risks.
“He’s a competitive beast and he wants to get out there as soon as possible. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
When Rance went down, it was expected that Richmond’s aspirations would fade in his absence, but the Tigers backline has rallied to renew hope just five games out from finals.
Grimes says he and his defensive teammates have taken a while to fill the gaping void left by the five-time All-Australian.
“I don’t think we could ever really cover for him, to be honest,” he added.
“The part you don’t see on TV is he is probably the loudest player I’ve played with. He is so vocal and his leadership is sorely missed.
“But I think we are starting to get settled as a back six or seven. It took a long time for players to learn their roles, myself included. I wasn’t used to being the deepest player, I was normally the third deepest.
“It’s taken a lot of players some time to settle into that new role and structure and really start to get some benefit of that change up.
“We could never really replace him but we are more settled now than we were about eight weeks ago.”
The Tigers take on Collingwood in a tantalising clash at the MCG to kick off Round 19 on Friday night.
Listen to Grimes on SEN Breakfast in the player below: