PORT Adelaide key defender Alipate Carlile will miss up to six weeks after undergoing wrist surgery.

Carlile played with a sore wrist in last Saturday's Showdown loss to Adelaide, and scans this week have revealed a cracked bone.

"'Bobby' has a non-displaced fractured scaphoid – basically a crack to a bone in his wrist," Power high performance manager Darren Burgess told Port's website.

"We think he might have hurt it against St Kilda (in round one), as he reported a little soreness after the game.

"We got it scanned after he reported it hadn’t improved in round two (against the Crows).

"He’ll be running within a week. Contact work will take about a month."

The loss of the tall backman robs Port of their first-choice match-up for Essendon's emerging forward Joe Daniher.

The task of containing Daniher, who produced a game-breaking 15-mark display in the Bombers' win against Melbourne last week, will now likely fall to Jackson Trengove.

"He will cause some worry for us, there is no doubt about that, but the supply of the ball to Joe is probably equally important as Joe himself," Power coach Ken Hinkley said on Thursday.

Port now have eight top-liners unavailable - Matt White will miss three months with a torn pectoral muscle and has been put on the long-term injured list, while former Essendon players Paddy Ryder and Angus Monfries are suspended for the season.

Chad Wingard (hamstring), Hamish Hartlett (hamstring), Jay Schulz (back), and Nathan Krakouer (jaw/suspended) are also unavailable.

"You don't often have to replace top-end talent all at once but that is the challenge we have got this week," Hinkley said.

"That is the challenges of an AFL season, you don't always have them all available at any one time.

"Every side at some point will go through some challenging times with personnel. For us, the depth of the squad is what we have got to rely on ... it's the collective that need to stand up together."