Collingwood ruckman Darcy Cameron could miss up to two months of football after suffering a knee injury on Friday night at the MCG.
Having traded out Brodie Grundy at the end of last season – and already without Mason Cox and Aiden Begg due injury – Cameron was subbed out of Friday night’s 14-point win over Richmond with a suspected medial ligament injury.
McRae revealed after the win that Cameron was staring down the barrel of a lengthy sideline stint.
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“We’ve had a bad week in the ruck stakes, we lost Mason for a period of time and now it looks like Darcy will be out for a significant period,” he said.
“We’ll find out more but initial diagnosis is a high-grade MCL (medial collateral ligament).
“I don’t know how long that is, but we’ll wait and see.”
Former mid-season rookie draftee Ash Johnson spent time in the ruck in Cameron’s absence, while trade recruit Dan McStay also performed the role.
McStay’s fellow key-position trade recruit Billy Frampton could also be in the mix for more ruck time, but the ex-Crow was brilliant in defence, keeping Richmond spearhead Tom Lynch to just one goal.
McRae admitted during his press conference that the options for ruck replacements were thin, but was confident his undefeated side would adapt.
“Funnily enough we talked about this before the game yesterday around what if Darcy went down,” he said.
“We’ve got a few things up our sleeve, but it’s a shame. We hope it’s good news and our thoughts and prayers are with him.”
