Will Walker will miss the next month of football with a hamstring strain.

The young forward/wingman, 21, sustained the injury in North’s narrow loss to the Lions. 

“It could be a four-to-six-week recovery, but we’re keen to see how the injury settles over the next few days, and whether that time frame could potentially shorten depending on how he pulls up this week,” North GM football Brady Rawlings said.

“We’re not prepared to rule him out for the season at this stage, but we acknowledge time is against us.” 

It was Walker’s second game since returning from a PCL tear and related knee issues dating back to the end of the 2018 season. 

Meanwhile North has elected to wrap Kayne Turner in cotton wool for the remainder of the year. 

The tough small forward pulled up sore following North’s match against the Dogs in the Marsh Community Series, with scans revealing a medial sesamoid fracture in the ball of his foot.

“From the outset, we said we wouldn’t be taking any risks with Kayne, and that approach certainly hasn’t changed,” Rawlings said.

“Due to the nature of the injury, we felt that a conservative rehabilitation approach was the best course of action to let the bone heal, as opposed to surgery.

“He’s been running well and building his fitness, but we’re not prepared to put him back out there and risk injury or a recurrence.”

Turner, 24, has played 79 games.