Melbourne star Clayton Oliver could miss another two matches as he continues to struggle with his lingering hamstring injury.
The 25-year-old ball magnet has been out of action since round 10, when he sustained a minor hamstring injury against Port Adelaide, missing Melbourne's subsequent three matches.
An infected blister meant he spent five days in hospital, which the Demons believe contributed to the hamstring tightening again.
The Demons and Oliver then had to reject rumours the midfielder's absence was due to off-field behavioural issues.
Melbourne listed Oliver as returning in one-to-two weeks while confirming he would miss at least Sunday's match against GWS.
“Clayton had follow-up scans on his hamstring last week, those scans - in combination with some of our objective markers - have shown he’s not quite ready to progress through the final stages of our return-to-play program,” football boss Alan Richardson told the club's website.
“He’s continuing to integrate into team training as we continue to build him through those final stages of his hamstring rehabilitation program.”
The Demons will also be without veteran defender Michael Hibberd (kidney) who was injured against Geelong.
“Unfortunately for Michael, during one of the early contests in the game he suffered an injury to his lower ribs,” Richardson said.
“Following further imaging, it’s shown that he has minor damage to his kidney, which will require him to be limited from contact for a short-term period to allow healing.
“Once we get clearance from the medical professionals we’ve been consulting with, he’ll re-integrate into contest work.”
Richmond will be without Dion Prestia for Thursday's high-stakes trip to Brisbane after the gun midfielder suffered a calf strain.
But the Tigers will welcome back recruit Jacob Hopper after the former GWS midfielder missed five games with a lower calf injury.
Triple-premiership player Prestia, who has a lengthy injury history, appears likely to miss at least two games through his latest setback, with the Tigers listing the on-baller's injury as "short-term".
The 30-year-old will be sorely missed against Brisbane's star-studded midfield headlined by Lachie Neale and Josh Dunkley.
It means Hopper's return couldn't be better timed.
The former Giant averaged 24.7 disposals, four tackles and five clearances across his first seven games at Richmond before being substituted out in round eight.
Young tall Samson Ryan has also been cleared to play after he was substituted out of the Tigers' round 14 win over St Kilda with an ankle injury.
Forward Noah Cumberland has also recovered from his calf muscle injury.
