Geelong will be without Brownlow Medal favourite Gary Ablett for Saturday's top of the table AFL clash with the Western Bulldogs at Skilled Stadium.

Ablett rolled his ankle in last weekend's clash with Fremantle and suffered ligament damage.

The star midfielder was on crutches, with his injured foot in a protective shoe, at training on Monday and coach Mark Thompson confirmed that Ablett was no chance of recovering in time to take on the second-placed Bulldogs.

Tagger Cameron Ling will miss up to four matches with a fractured cheekbone after being struck by Fremantle's Dean Solomon.

But Thompson said that midfielder James Kelly would return for the clash with the Dogs while Brent Prismall, Ryan Gamble and Shannon Byrnes were also in the mix to be selected.

"(Ablett) will probably be in a moon boot for another two days so there's no chance he'll play this week," Thompson said.

"He probably knew he wasn't going to get up this week."

The Cats coach hoped his side would again lift to fill the void left by Ablett and Ling in the same way the defence had done when fullback Matthew Scarlett was out with a hamstring injury for two games.

"We had times where we've missed players like Scarlett, a couple of weeks ago, and that's when the back six digs in," Thompson said.

"Last week we didn't have Kelly and Kelly's been a super player this year. So you hope with Gary out and Lingy out ... maybe some of the boys have got to step up and I'm hoping that happens."

With the Bulldogs building a reputation of winning the contested ball, Thompson expected the clash to be a fierce battle.

But in a veiled swipe at the tactics employed by the Dockers, Thompson said it would be played in good spirit.

"I'm proud - I love watching our boys play footy," he said.

"So many times now, they get in the mood, the zone, like we were on the weekend and they're just awesome to watch, and that's what people come to watch.

"They don't come to the footy to watch brawling fights, king hits, they don't come to watch defensive footy they come to watch entertaining, football.

"I think our boys will do that on the weekend.

Thompson refused to bite back at Dockers football manager Robert Shaw, who claimed the Cats also played "dirty" football and said his friendship with Dockers coach Mark Harvey had not been hurt following the roughhouse tactics he instructed his players to employ against the Cats.

"I don't want to get in a battle of words with administrations at other clubs. I'm not going to get in a spraying match with Fremantle," Thompson said.

"Mark Harvey wasn't the one who did what happened to Cameron Ling.

"I'm still good mates with him, that'll never change.

"I don't speak to him every week, never have, never will. We'll catch up in the future at some stage."

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