Lachie Neale is likely to spend at least one week on the sidelines due to soreness, according to senior coach Ross Lyon.

Lyon said the hardy midfielder had battled a sore groin since round one and received a knock to the knee in Saturday’s loss to Sydney.

After undergoing three off-season surgeries ahead of the 2017 season, Neale has played every game up until last week where he appeared to struggle with nine disposals.

Neale last missed an AFL game in round 2 of the 2014 season.

“Lachie Neale will, hopefully, just miss a week,” Lyon said.

“Just sore groins over the period of the year but he’s been handling them really well.

“For whatever reason, I think he’s had a bit of a knee knock. He’s had that wear and tear. Inside mids they play…it’s very physical.

“He’s been really good for us this year and his challenge was he came off operations last year with a limited summer, so what he’s been able to achieve off a limited summer has been really impressive.”