Carlton will be forced into making two changes for “The Ultimate Rivalry” against Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday, with both Eddie Betts and Shaun Hampson unavailable through injury and illness.

Betts suffered a broken jaw in an accidental collision with a Richmond opponent in the opening quarter of last Thursday night’s opening round contest. He meets with the surgeon today and the club is to be guided by medical advice, but the 167-game player has already been ruled out for the second round match.

Hampson, meanwhile, underwent surgery on Saturday evening to have his appendix removed. He too is to be assessed through the course of the week, but has also been ruled out.

“Eddie sustained the injury early in the game, so it was a great effort in his behalf to keep playing. But he won’t be playing this week and we’ll be guided by the doctor,” McKay said.

“Shaun felt really terrible on Saturday afternoon, saw the doctor and was diagnosed with appendicitis. He went straight into hospital and had his appendix removed.

“Obviously we’ll have to replace a ‘tall’ and a ‘small’ in our forward line, so there are a couple of spots up for grabs.”

Meanwhile Mitch Robinson, who was subbed out of Thursday night’s match with concussion, is expected to prove his fitness for Sunday.

“Mitch is recovering well. He completed a stat test today and passed that, so all being well he’ll play on Sunday,” McKay said.


INJURY UPDATE

Eddie Betts
Jaw
To be assessed

Andrew Collins
Ankle
1-2 weeks

David Ellard
Hamstring
1-2 weeks

Nick Graham
Knee
7-8 weeks

Shaun Hampson
Appendicitis
1 week

Patrick McCarthy
Heel
1 week

Andrew McInnes
Knee
11 weeks

Rhys O’Keeffe
Foot
3 weeks

Jarrad Waite
Calf
1-2 weeks