Young Brisbane ruckman Matthew Leuenberger could be out of AFL action for up to three months after injuring a knee in Saturday night's win over Sydney at the Gabba.

And Hawthorn face the prospect of having another member of their premiership side sidelined through injury, after midfielder Xavier Ellis suffered a suspected broken foot during Sunday's win over North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.

Leuenberger damaged cartilage in his left knee during the third quarter, but the Lions are hopeful the 20-year-old avoided serious damage as he could move the joint freely on Sunday.

Coach Michael Voss did however concede there was a chance the promising big man might have to undergo surgery.

"The best-case scenario is he's just pinched it," Voss told the Austereo network.

"I guess the worst-case scenario is that he's torn it badly and they'll have to repair it, so it might be three months.

"We're sort of hoping that it only just needs a little clean-up which will be about four weeks."

Leuenberger's injury paves the way for Voss to recall Jamie Charman, after he dropped his former premiership teammate following the round two defeat to Carlton.

Ellis missed the opening match of the season with a hip injury and could be set for another stint on the sidelines after hurting his foot when it connected with an opponent trying to smother.

The left-footer was assisted off the ground, and will undergo scans on Monday.

"He was too sore to come back on the ground, so it's not usually a good sign for being able to play the next week," Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson said.

The Hawks had seven members of their triumphant 2008 side watching on with injuries on Sunday.

Sydney are nursing a hamstring injury to veteran tagger Jared Crouch.

Collingwood are set to promote a rookie to cover the loss of utility Ben Johnson, who broke the fibula in his right leg in Thursday night's loss to Geelong and is expected to be out for two months.

Meanwhile, Hawthorn defender Trent Croad said on Sunday he was hopeful of returning from a foot injury before the halfway point of the season.

Croad broke a bone in his foot in last year's grand final, but experienced complications in his bid to return.

"I'm aiming for the second half of the season definitely, but if everything goes according to plan it could be a lot earlier," Croad told Austereo.

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