Harry McKay's knee surgery won't derail Carlton from focusing on making the finals
Carlton midfield star Adam Cerra is adamant the Blues have 'multiple avenues' to score and finals remain the ambition despite Coleman medallist Harry McKay being sent for knee surgery and Charlie Curnow under a fitness cloud ahead of a season-shaping clash with North Melbourne.
The Blues moved to a 6-7 record after taking care of West Coast last week and remain in touch with the eight, needing a win against the Kangaroos to keep their season alive.
They'll have to do it without McKay, who has been sent for surgery after battling a knee issue that has sidelined him since round 12.
Curnow was also subbed out of the win over the Eagles with some calf 'awareness' and needs to pass a fitness test to take on the Kangas at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
The Blues managed 12 goals against West Coast without McKay and just one from Curnow, small forward Lachie Fogarty bobbing up with three, and Cerra was adamant the small brigade could provide the majors needed to keep kicking winning scores.
'We've seen last couple of weeks, some young players coming in, taking opportunity,' Cerra said on Wednesday.
'Hudson O'Keefe over the last couple of weeks, Harry Lemmy has been playing some really good football in the VFL.
'Then we're not just purely relying on tall forwards down there, we've got our smalls getting to work – Lachie Fogarty, Zac Williams since he's come back from injury. So for us, it's next man up.'
Things get tougher for the Blues after this weekend with an away clash against Port Adelaide followed by games against premiership hopefuls Collingwood then Brisbane in what looms as a defining month for a team that maintains finals aspirations.
'Obviously, like every club, we want to be in September trying to win this competition. We're not shying away from that,' Cerra said.
'Obviously, we're disappointed with our first half of the season, but our focus right now is finishing off this year really strongly to put ourselves in a strong position to hopefully play September footy.'
The Blues could soon be boosted by the addition of Nic Newman, who is edging closer to a remarkable return from a ruptured patella.
'The other day, I turned around, he was pretty much in match sim with us fully training,' Cerra said.
'So we're super excited for him to finish off his rehab and potentially play some footy this year.'
Officially, the Blues have declared Newman is only progressing 'very well' with a view to soon training with the main group, with a determination to be made then 'whether he will be able to return to play later in the season'.
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