GEELONG'S ruck stocks are unlikely to be bolstered by the return of Rhys Stanley straight after the bye, with the big man still battling soreness to the Lisfranc area of his foot, leading sports medico Dr Peter Larkins says.

The Cats' finals ambitions took a hit in the shock loss to Melbourne on Sunday, when they were monstered in the ruck by Max Gawn and Jake Spencer. They now have the week off to regroup before a tough stretch of matches against top-eight contenders Adelaide (away), North Melbourne, the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney (away).

But Larkins doubted Geelong would regain Stanley – who hurt his foot during the round 11 win over Port Adelaide - prior to the Roos' clash.

"They're just monitoring the soreness. He's got a form of Lisfranc injury that didn't show up dramatically on the scans, but they're being conservative with his treatment on a week-by-week basis," Larkins told AFL.com.au.

"But they're still expecting him to be a few more weeks. I still use the example of Daniel Wells last year who North said they had trouble working out what it was because it didn’t show up on the scan.

"So it's an injury that Geelong certainly won't rush him back (from), but I don't think they've changed their thoughts about what it is.

"A good result is four-to-six weeks for that injury – that's if you get a quick result from that style of injury."

Wells endured four months on the sidelines last season and key forward Mitch Clark's career at Melbourne was derailed by a Lisfranc issue before his comeback with the Cats this year.

In better news for Chris Scott's side, giant ruckman Dawson Simpson could be available after the bye following a strong return from a shoulder injury in the VFL on Saturday.

But they will be without onballer Jordan Murdoch for about a month due to a hamstring injury.

"Being a running, speed player he's likely to be missing for three-to-four weeks in total," Larkins said. "So it's a significant setback for Murdoch. He'll undergo the standard rehabilitation program."

Meanwhile, Adelaide skipper Taylor Walker hopes to overcome two 'corkies' in time to face the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday. Walker was substituted out of Thursday night's loss to Hawthorn in the third quarter after trying to play through a corked hip and thigh.

"They were just cork injuries, they weren't severe, but he had two in two separate areas which restricted his running," Larkins said.

"They were hopeful by subbing him out they didn't make it worse – and they were optimistic that he would be able to train later in the week - but he'll have to get through a fitness test. He's a reasonable chance to play, though."

Lions tough nut Nick Robertson will only be sidelined for two weeks after he suffered a grade-two strain of the AC joint in his left shoulder during Saturday night's loss to the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night.

In other news, West Coast could have an anxious wait over the bye with another key defender, Will Schofield, under an injury cloud. Schofield suffered a low-grade glute tear late in last Friday night's win over Richmond and could be in doubt for the Eagles' trip to play Melbourne in Darwin on July 4.

"If he didn't have the bye, I'd think he'd be likely to miss the coming week. He needs to get the physiotherapy and bleeding out of it," Larkins said.

"I think there's a small doubt that he won't be able to train properly in a week's time, so they'll have to evaluate him."

In a better result for the Eagles, small forward Jamie Cripps and emerging defender Jeremy McGovern should recover from their corked thighs in time for the Demons clash.

However, first-year Tigers midfielder Corey Ellis is unlikely to be available for several weeks after he was substituted in the second quarter.

"It was a half-adductor, half-hip (injury). It was a significant strain of that and he was obviously subbed out and iced up," Larkins said.

"They were going to scan him, but the expectation of that sort of injury is probably missing two-to-three matches."

Larkins backed Essendon's decision to withdraw Travis Colyer for the rest of the season, with the speedster and ruckman Tom Bellchambers sustaining fractured bones in their feet.

"The more serious injury is Colyer, who has been diagnosed with a stress fracture of the dreaded navicular as well as the adjacent metatarsal bone," Larkins said.

"The club is expecting that this injury will keep him out for the rest of the year – I would suggest that's a wise move given the likely recurrence of this injury in a running player.

"Bellchambers has a less severe injury but still has a stress fracture of the third metatarsal in his foot and the healing the time for this injury will be in the range of six-to-eight weeks.

"It will prevent him from doing any high-impact fitness (or) conditioning work until that time, effectively ruining his preparation for the second half of the season."

Larkins also said that:

- Port Adelaide having the bye this weekend should mean Robbie Gray doesn't miss any football due to the concussion he suffered when his head hit the ground in a Bryce Gibbs tackle on Saturday.

- Carlton skipper Marc Murphy should be fine to face Gold Coast on Sunday after sustaining only a low-grade cork above his knee in the Blues' win over Port Adelaide.

- Jarrad Waite is likely to play with his sprained thumb strapped when North Melbourne comes back from the bye against the Suns.

- Hawthorn forward Jack Gunston's dislocated finger will be sore for a couple of weeks but he will be fine to play with strapping.

- Gary Ablett is on track to make his long-awaited return from his sore shoulder for Gold Coast against Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.