Shaun Higgins may have North Melbourne’s finals hopes riding on his shoulders, but the Kangaroos are going to have to face Brisbane without the in-form midfielder.
Higgins will miss at least one game with a minor knee injury, but the Roos are confident he’ll be back to play the Western Bulldogs the following week.
"Shaun had a very minor arthroscopic procedure on his right knee last night," North Melbourne’s general manager of football Cameron Joyce told the club’s website on Tuesday afternoon.
"We're very confident he will only be out for the one week, and expect him to be fit to play against the Bulldogs in round 21.
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"Getting this procedure done now will enable him to finish off the year strongly."
Higgins is playing the best football of his career, averaging over 27.4 touches a game, four more than his next best season’s return.
His form has seen the 30-year-old come into Brownlow calculations and he currently sits as sixth favourite, paying $26.
The Kangaroos get around Shaun Higgins as he kicks a goal in his 200th game! #AFLNorthEagles pic.twitter.com/DvXxyDwcbC
— AFL (@AFL) July 29, 2018
The Kangaroos will be hoping Higgins is back as soon as possible to help keep their unlikely finals campaign alive.
North currently sits outside the top eight by a game and some percentage, but with the Bulldogs, Adelaide and St Kilda to follow this Saturday’s trip to Brisbane, they have arguably the softest draw of other teams in the fight for September.
The Roos could possibly welcome back veteran key forward Jarrad Waite this week, while tagger Ben Jacobs is extremely unlikely as he battles ongoing concussion problems.