Carlton star Jarrad Waite fears his AFL season could be over even though he must wait to later this week to know the severity of his knee injury.

Waite will this week undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, which will repair the ligament damage on the outside of the joint and also determine whether the 26-year-old needs a season-ending reconstruction.

Waite hyper-extended his knee against Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Saturday and scans have confirmed he suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

There is a chance Waite could be advised to rest his knee in a brace for 10 weeks, which could let him play later in the season, but the man famed for his versatility shuffling between defence and attack feared the worst.

"Obviously I have done a fair bit of damage," he told Network Ten on Monday.

"It's probably season over and it's never good when you go down, especially when you are playing all right and the team is going all right as well."

Carlton said Waite's surgeon would get a better idea of the damage to the player's ACL when he performed the arthroscopy, and could then advise the best path to recovery.

Waite's absence is a major setback for Carlton, who have lost three of their past four games to slip outside the eight, and have had full-forward Brendan Fevola kept to two goals in the past three games.

In contrast, Collingwood's attack could be significantly bolstered against Port Adelaide on Sunday at the MCG.

The Magpies are hopeful small forwards Alan Didak and Paul Medhurst, along with midfielder Dale Thomas, have overcome injuries and could be available.

Hamstring troubles have kept Didak sidelined since round four, Medhurst has missed the past three games with an ankle injury and Thomas the past two because of knee soreness.

"Paul Medhurst, (Alan) Didak and (Dale) Thomas, if all goes well, should be available, and they would be very handy ins for us," said defender Harry O'Brien on Monday.

Essendon are also buoyed by the returns of ruckman Jason Laycock and midfielders Mark McVeigh, Kyle Reimers and Hayden Skipworth through the VFL on the weekend.

All four played about an hour for the Bendigo Bombers in their defeat to Coburg on Sunday, which gave Essendon hope they will return soon to senior action.

Laycock has not played since round 20 of last year due to foot problems, but his return for the Dons would ease their stop-gap ruck situation, where defender Paddy Ryder and youngster Tom Bellchambers were thrown into the fray after David Hille suffered a season-ending knee injury on Anzac Day.

McVeigh (ankle) and Skipworth (hamstring) have not played in the AFL since round four, and Reimers is yet to play this season because of a quad injury.

Fellow onballer Andrew Welsh could return via the VFL this weekend in what would be his first game since he injured an ankle during the pre-season.

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