If West Coast Eagles supporters had hoped to give Chris Judd a final thank you, that will have to wait - or may not be given at all - after the champion midfielder was ruled out for the next five weeks.
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The Blues host the Eagles on Saturday at Etihad Stadium, but will be without their former skipper, who headlines injuries to three key Carlton midfielders from Sunday's bruising win over the Western Bulldogs.
The Blues confirmed on Monday that Judd would miss more than a month after tearing his hamstring, denying him what could be his final match against the Eagles, the club he led to a flag in 2006.
The Blues and Eagles meet only once during the home-and-away season and the Blues appear unlikely to make the finals. Judd, 30, could retire at the end of the year, having battled three leg issues since late last season when he had a medial ligament strain. He also carried the Achilles tendonitis through last season.
Compounding Judd's latest injury, elite tagger Ed Curnow has fractured the fibula in his right leg after crashing into a point post and will be absent for six weeks, while Tom Bell has fractured a finger and will sit out for four weeks.
The injuries are likely to mean veteran hardnut midfielder Brock McLean, banished to the VFL since round two, will be in line for a recall. He was named as one of the Northern Blues' best against Footscray, having had 25 disposals, including 11 clearances. Speedy forward Jeff Garlett was also strong, having improved his willingness to complete the defensive acts senior coach Mick Malthouse had wanted.
Judd's expected recovery period means he will miss clashes against the Eagles, Collingwood, St Kilda and the Adelaide Crows. The Blues have a bye between meeting the Saints and Crows. He could return against the Brisbane Lions in round 11.
The dual Brownlow medallist has described his hamstring injury as ‘‘bad luck’’, insisting he was in the right physical condition to return from an Achilles injury.
Judd’s comeback from pre-season surgery, which had forced him to miss the opening four matches, on Sunday lasted only five minutes before he grabbed at his right leg after running at full pace. He had been substituted into the match only late in the third term.
Judd returned to full training more than a week before the Bulldogs clash, with the Blues opting to not let him return through the VFL.
‘‘I’ve done a couple (of hamstrings) before and they're never pleasant but it doesn't feel like the worst one I've done,’’ Judd said on Monday.
‘‘I was really well conditioned. I hadn't done a lot of skills training with the team but had done a heap of running and a heap of leg strength work so there was no issues with conditioning.
‘‘Sometimes in footy you get put in positions the human body can't tolerate and that's just bad luck.
‘‘It certainly wasn't a lack of conditioning. I wouldn't have been out there if I wasn't ready to go.’’
Malthouse and football chief Andrew McKay have defended their decision to use Judd as a substitute, with McKay calling the injury "one of those freak things".
Judd vowed to return in excellent condition, still hopeful the Blues would push for the finals.
"I just got pushed by accident into a position that hamstrings can't tolerate, so it wouldn't have mattered if I'd trained for 50 weeks or six weeks, it wouldn't have changed the outcome," he said.
"You look at the GPS data, that speed that I was pushed at was twice as quick as anyone else moved for the night.
"So it's pretty simple mathematics: your body can't tolerate that and there was a bit of a pop but it's not the end of the world, I'll be back."
Curnow will not require surgery but Bell, who was hurt in a tackling contest, will have an operation on Tuesday.
