CARLTON will have to go without veteran midfielder Marc Murphy over the next few weeks as he recovers from fractured ribs.

While the Blues prepare to welcome back fellow veteran Kade Simpson, the incident involving Shane Mumford from the first quarter of Carlton’s clash on Sunday will see the 258-gamer sidelined for at least a fortnight. 

Director of High Performance Andrew Russell gave an update on the wounded Blue after he spent Sunday night in a Sydney hospital. 

“Marc Murphy has got a couple of fractures in his ribs. We probably expect him to miss two to three weeks at this stage,” Russell said.

“He’ll have a light week on the track this week and get back to some running next week. He’s sore, but he’s not too bad.”

But the outlook is positive for speedy forward David Cuningham, who is set to make his return action this weekend.

The crafty forward was a late out for Carlton’s Round 9 clash with the Giants, missing the game with general soreness.

“David didn’t quite get up for the game, we tested him before the day but he didn’t quite get there,” he said.  

“We expect him to have a full week on the track and at this stage, we expect him to be available for this weekend.”

Blues supporters can also brace themselves for the upcoming return of Tom De Koning, who has missed the last two months with a knee injury.  

The exciting, emerging youngster played two games in 2018 and is poised to make his return to game play over the coming weeks. 

“Tom De Koning was out there training today, he did his first skills session which is great,” he said.

“We think he’s going to need two to three weeks of training to play so he’ll probably miss another two games before we see him playing again.”