Aliir Aliir is set for a lengthy stint on the sideline after undergoing syndesmosis surgery.
His ankle was injured during Port Adelaide's tough loss to Brisbane on Saturday night in the opening round of the new AFL season.
The All-Australian defender could potentially miss out on four to eight weeks of action.
Port Adelaide assistant coach Nathan Bassett shared the news on Monday and explained that Sam Skinner is an ideal potential replacement for their upcoming run of matches.
"[Aliir] has been outstanding, so he's difficult to replace," Bassett said.
"Sam [Skinner] does have a similar mindset in terms of the way he goes for the ball and intercepts marks, and he's hard as a cat's head.
"If he plays, he'll give us everything that he has, but clearly [it is not easy to] replace an All-Australian defender."
Trent McKenzie has been stretchered from the ground following this contest.#AFLLionsPort pic.twitter.com/547EN1kBWM
— AFL (@AFL) March 19, 2022
However, there is some good injury news for Port Adelaide, with Trent McKenzie and Xavier Duursma considered chances to play in round two.
There were fears that McKenzie would be out for a significant period after he was stretchered off with a knee injury last weekend.
Duursma also suffered a significant knock from Lions player Mitch Robinson in the same match, injuring his collarbone in the process.
Both player's injuries were less serious than initially expected, however, they are still not certain inclusions in the team to face Hawthorn on Saturday,
If there is a gap to fill, Bassett citied No.12 draft pick Josh Sinn as a potential replacement.
