Port Adelaide ruckman Matthew Lobbe will be sidelined for the next three months of the AFL season after suffering a knee injury in the Power’s reserves side.
Lobbe was dropped back to the SANFL ahead of Port’s win over Richmond after an indifferent start to the season.
The 27-year-old ruptured a posterior cruciate ligament against Sturt on Sunday, with the club electing not to put the ruckman in for surgery.
“The timeframes for recovery are pretty similar whether he has surgery or not,” Power high performance manager Darren Burgess said.
“It’s a fairly standard rehab program that he’ll do. He’ll be in a knee brace for about six weeks and will commence running in six to seven weeks.”
Youngster Dougal Howard, who played just his second AFL game against the Tigers, must shoulder the ruck duties with former Essendon tall Paddy Ryder unavailable all season as he serves an anti-doping ban.