CARLTON ruckman Matthew Kreuzer has become the second Blues player in as many weeks to leave a match early with an elevated heart rate.
Kreuzer left the field just minutes into the first quarter of Carlton's clash with St Kilda due to a shortness of breath, with tests also revealing he had a raised heartbeat.
The ruckman’s problems come just a week after defender Caleb Marchbank failed to see out the team's match against Brisbane having reported a similar issue.
Kreuzer came to the bench unprompted in the first term, but was immediately taken down to the rooms, where he was followed by an emergency physician.
However, the 29-year-old wasn't required to go to hospital and watched the remainder of the match from the ground.
"He had shortness of breath and, quite randomly, you wouldn't believe it but an elevated heart rate," Carlton coach Brendon Bolton told reporters after the game.
"That settled down and he's OK now. It settled down pretty quickly, but we weren't going to take any risks with that. It was a funny one."
Having reported a similar issue last week, Marchbank spent one night in hospital but was cleared by a cardiologist in the aftermath and didn't miss a game.
Bolton suggested Kreuzer also wouldn't miss any matches, but said the club would be cautious as they monitored his recovery during the week.
" I'm not a cardiologist, so I don't really understand it, other than to say you take no risks in any of that space," Bolton said.
"It's quite random, I've never seen it before. I wouldn't have thought (he'd miss time), but we'll go through all of the testing processes with a cardiologist, like we did with 'Marchy'.
"It's a random thing, I've never seen it. And I've never seen it two weeks in a row."
A series of players were forced to rotate through the ruck in Kreuzer's absence, with a combination of Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay, Liam Jones and Sam Rowe all pinch-hitting.
Bolton said afterwards he hoped the experience would help build resilience within his young and developing group.
"It happened really early in the game and it unsettled us a little bit," Bolton said.
"We had to mix and match in the ruck. That unsettled us and that's what has happened with us a bit leading into this game and the last few, we just haven't had a settled line-up.
"You lose a few in game and it makes it worse. But although it's really hard to see right now, that will build resilience in this group.
"Harry gets more ruck exposure, Jack (Silvagni) had to play at both ends, Liam has to go into the ruck and our young blokes have got to dig in with one less rotation.
"As frustrating and annoying as it is, we think in time it will pay us back. Our group will build resilience out of it."
