Carlton's Sam Docherty 'guarantees' key teammate Patrick Cripps will be over a troubling back injury and fit for the Blues' opening to the 2017 season.
Cripps, who finished third to Docherty in last season's best and fairest after himself taking out the award in 2015, was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his lower back late last month, which is expected to keep him sidelined until late February at the earliest.
The powerful midfielder has only been a spectator during Carlton's 10-day pre-season training camp on the Gold Coast on Sunday and will be on a modified program when he resumes.
But Docherty said he had no doubts Cripps would be ready for Carlton's round one clash against Richmond on March 23.
"He's a resilient bloke and he's very professional. The aim is for round one and he's doing his rehab according to that," Docherty said on Sunday. "He'll be fine, I guarantee he'll be ready to go.
"From the advice that I've got from people at the club and from him, it seems like it's probably going to be a bit of a rest for now, but he'll be able to reload somewhere in January, and obviously the games start in March, so we've got plenty of time."
With the Blues' midfield stocks lacking some depth, Cripps's setback, along with skipper Marc Murphy's return from a long absence has had Carlton fans anxious about the start to next season.
But Docherty noted the improving depth across the senior list, including the midfield area, and had more bright news for Carlton supporters on how Bryce Gibbs, who sought a trade to Adelaide in October, was faring.
Gibbs, 27, who has a young child with his partner Lauren, sought a move back to his home state to be closer to the support of their families just two years into a five-year deal.
But the now-veteran former No.1 draft pick looks super-fit, and Docherty said Gibbs has attacked the pre-season work with relish.
"He's been great. He rocked up day one and ran some really good times in our testing and came back in probably [the best] physical condition that he's been in," Docherty said.
"As a fellow player, I was rapt with the way he rocked up as a leader of the club … and came back in really good condition.
Docherty said Gibbs had been completely transparent with his teammates and the club about what had transpired during the trade period.
"He was open and upfront about it. He's hasn't got a grudge against the footy club or against the players or anything," Docherty said. "It was just something that happened and we've moved on and hopefully we can have a really big year from him."
Docherty said he too was relishing the challenge of backing-up his best season of AFL football in 2017.
"The pre-season really set me up for a big year, and probably the hard part now is going again and improving a different area, but I'm looking forward to the challenge," he said. "In AFL footy, if you're not prepared to work hard and improve your game, you'll probably find yourself out the door pretty quickly."