Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has revealed that key midfielder Dion Prestia has suffered a calf setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Prestia, who hasn’t played since Round 3, won’t be available to face the undefeated Western Bulldogs on Friday night.
"He had a bit of calf tightness last week so just as we thought we were getting him back he's had that so how far that puts him back we're not too sure, but he won't play next week," Hardwick told reporters after Saturday night's 34-point loss to Melbourne.
The Tigers will also be without superstar Dustin Martin (concussion) for the Bulldogs clash under the AFL’s concussion protocols, while Kane Lambert is doubtful after injuring his calf.
"He (Martin) will obviously miss next week which is disappointing but it's the lay of the land at the moment and player health and well-being is the paramount of our medical staff and the AFL, so we'll abide by that and he'll take his 12 days," Hardwick said.
"He has had some foot issues. They've not been significant, but it has impacted him and last week was a little bit the same.
"In fairness, although he's going to miss some time, it might be the best thing for him. He's a proud man, he'd never put up his hand and complain, but the fact of the matter is he hasn't been his explosive self because of that."
Richmond’s frustrations boiled over late in the defeat to the Demons and Kane Cornes thinks a lack of discipline is a slight chink in the armour of the reigning premiers.
“You could tell that Richmond were frustrated,” Cornes told AFL Media’s The Round So Far.
“That’s maybe one chink in Richmond’s armour is they have been undisciplined over the journey. They’ve had issues at the Tribunal and issues with 50m penalties and free kicks against.”
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