Star Richmond midfielder Dion Prestia will miss Friday night’s clash with Geelong at the MCG because of a fractured rib.

Prestia suffered the injury during the second quarter of last Saturday’s match against Collingwood, when he received a heavy bump from opponent Travis Varcoe.

He bravely played out the game and was a valuable contributor in Richmond’s 28-point win.

“We’ll just give him the week and get him to a position where’s he’s more pain free and more likely next week (Round 21) against Gold Coast,” said Richmond’s Physical Performance Manager Peter Burge.

Here is Burge’s update on the injury status of several other members of the Tigers’ playing group . . .

Shai Bolton, knee

“Shai hurt his knee actually a bit during training on Thursday, just landing from a marking contest. He pulled up quite well, but during the (VFL) game on the weekend got a little bit sore and had a bit of swelling on Sunday morning. So we’ll probably just take the week and settle that down.” 

Tyson Stengle, ankle

“Tyson had an injury to his ankle early in the (VFL) game and was pulled out of the game at half-time. He’s actually pulled up quite well . . . We’re optimistic he’s going to play on the weekend.” 

Bachar Houli, groin

“Bachar, since the GWS game (Round 17), has done another two weeks of training after not pulling up so well from that game . . . We want to make sure now that after every high-intensity session his groin pain is consistently good. This week, we’re looking to play him some minutes, probably through the VFL . . . What we want out of that game is for him to pull up well, and then we’ll be in a better position next week, hopefully, to progress him back to the AFL level. The main goal, though, with Bachar is to make sure he can perform at his best and pull up well from match play towards the end of the year.”

Reece Conca, ankle

“Reece is going great. He’s starting intro skills tomorrow with the group, non-contact, and we’ll progress him to full training next week. And, if that all goes well, then he would be some chance of playing game time next week.”

Jack Graham, shoulder

“Jack’s going great with his shoulder. He’s now doing some tackling work, and we’re looking to do non-contact skills as well this week and progress him into full training next week. We’ll make a decision next week whether he plays at some level next week.”

Dan Butler, ankle

“’Buts’ started running this week . . . a little bit slower than what we expected, so we’ve got to progress his running with syndesmosis ankle sprains, which can be really tricky. It’s just progressing symptom-free and once he can do straight-line running flat out, then change direction, agility . . . those things before getting back into skills. He’s probably a couple of weeks away still.”

Nathan Drummond, hamstring

“Unfortunately, during training last Thursday, he picked up a ground ball, then went to accelerate and deviate and from an opponent, and suffered another hamstring injury, same spot as he’s had the previous two times . . . We’re talking to the surgeon and possibly going to see if there’s something we can do surgically to reinforce that area.” 

Mabior Chol, foot

“’Marbs’ has started running and he will progress his conditioning and hopefully into some skills. It’s probably more likely VFL finals (for his playing return).” 

Oleg Markov, knee

“Oleg, during the Sandringham (VFL) game the other week, had a kick on his left (foot) and felt some pain on the outside of his knee. Previous to that he had a medial ligament injury. This time we found he had a meniscus tear and he had to have surgery last Tuesday . . . He’s probably got about a four-week rehab and he’s a chance to play again by the end of the season.”