The defending premiers are set to be without their star co-captain Lachie Neale for the remainder of the 2025 home-and-away season, with the Brownlow medallist suffering from a quad injury.
Neale initially experienced soreness in Brisbane’s marvellous win over Collingwood on Saturday night, before subsequent scans confirmed a quad tear.
It comes as a massive blow for the Lions, who likely still need to win one of their final three games to comfortably guarantee a finals spot.
“Lachie Neale will sit out the last three matches of the home and away season due to a quad injury,” the club confirmed in a statement.
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“The midfielder underwent scans after experiencing soreness following Saturday’s win against Collingwood, which showed a quad tear.
“Neale was at the Club on Tuesday for training, where he started his recovery with an expected return for the first week of finals.”
The Lions currently sit third on the AFL ladder on 58 points, having won 14 games and drawn once so far this season.
In previous years, since the competition went to a 24-round fixture in 2023, eighth place has qualified for finals on 50 and 52 points.
But in one of the most competitive top-eight races in history, the Lions will dearly miss their star midfielder as they look to defend their crown in September.
Neale has played in all 20 games for the Lions so far this season, once again proving to be one of their most valuable contributors, averaging 27.1 disposals per game.
The Lions return home this week to host a grand final rematch against Sydney on Saturday, before two pivotal games in the run home to finals against Fremantle and Hawthorn to close out the season.