Geelong star Gary Ablett has drifted significantly in Brownlow Medal betting after his injury setback.

Ablett limped off the field in the last quarter of Sunday's win over Melbourne and the Cats have announced he has a strained left adductor in his groin area.

That will put him out of action for two or three weeks and Ablett also would not have been in the votes against the Demons.

Ablett's outstanding early-season form had shortened his Brownlow odds to under $2.

He remains the favourite for an elusive Brownlow, but Centrebet and TAB Sportsbet have eased his price to $2.50.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson said post-match on Sunday that Ablett might miss one week.

"He knew he (Ablett) was a bit sore, but he didn't know what it was," said Cats football manager Neil Balme on Monday.

"The positive, in a sense, is that we now know what it is - it is, genuinely, a strained adductor.

"It's probably better to be that than some other `grumbly' thing that you don't know about - `he's sore and we don't know why'."

Ablett had 25 possessions against the Demons after 46 and 42 disposals in his previous two games.

The Cats also announced on Monday that VFL player Scott Simpson will be out of action for up to three months with a broken ankle.

Meanwhile, Richmond star Matthew Richardson expects to miss Saturday's clash with Brisbane due to an ongoing buttock muscle injury.

Richardson was in doubt for Sunday's loss to Sydney and looked proppy during the game.

"It's pretty sore at the moment ... it's not getting much better, we'll just have to see what happens this week," Richardson told Melbourne radio station Vega.

"But I need a week off at this stage."

Essendon will be without key defender Dustin Fletcher for up to a month after better than expected news on the AFL veteran's leg fracture.

Fletcher had a follow-up scan on Monday morning in Melbourne after suffering the injury during Saturday night's loss to Brisbane, his 300th senior game.

There were fears Fletcher would be out of action for eight weeks.

"The scan revealed he has a hairline fracture of the fibula - not a full break as was feared - and he is expected to miss three or four weeks," the club said in a media release.

Fletcher's absence will severely stretch the Essendon defence, which must somehow contain Hawthorn key forwards Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.

The news is better for star Richmond recruit Ben Cousins, who played in the VFL on Saturday.

It was his first match since the round-one hamstring tear.

"I got what I wanted out of the game, which was good," Cousins told Nova.

"My body pulled up as (well) as it could have expected to.

Asked if would return to the seniors this weekend against Brisbane, Cousins said: "That's not a fait accompli, I've got to earn my spot like the rest of the guys ... we'll wait and see."

Cousins described the all-in brawl that occurred at three-quarter time of the VFL game against Casey Scorpions as "a nice suburban dust-up".

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