Essendon forward Harrison Jones says his horrific-looking ankle/foot injury has turned out better than first feared, but it remains to be seen how long he'll be out of action.
Jones, Jordan Ridley (hamstring) and Jade Gresham (adductor) were injured on Thursday night in a costly 9.11 (65) to 9.8 (62) victory for the Bombers over North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos were also left counting the cost, with defender Jackson Archer set to miss some eight weeks with a high grade left hamstring strain.
Jones was taken off on a stretcher and taken to hospital following an awkward landing that put his left ankle at a horror angle.
Essendon confirmed on Friday night that Jones had suffered a minor fracture in the base of his foot but would not require surgery.
The 24-year-old was in good spirits when he briefly spoke to the media earlier on Friday to give an update on his situation.
"I'm OK. I got two X-rays last night, no major breaks. It's a lot better than it could have been," Jones told reporters.
"I think I was in shock to be honest. I sort of looked down and saw my foot was the other way.
"I sort of just sat there. It all happened pretty quick."
Ridley has had a roller-coaster career with quad and left hamstring injuries. This time, the problem was his right hamstring.
Scans have confirmed a high-level strain, which will sideline him for several weeks, but he has also avoided the need for surgery.
Gresham suffered a low-grade adductor strain and will miss next week's match against Sydney.
Defender Zach Reid was understandably flat despite the win.
"To be honest, it doesn't feel like a win in here because of the injuries," Reid told AAP.
"The first 48 hours is pretty tough and Harry's my housemate.
"He just headed off to hospital but I'll get around him."
Essendon are already without Sam Draper (achilles), Nick Bryan (ACL) and Tom Edwards (ACL) through season-ending injuries.
"It's just another test of character," Essendon coach Brad Scott said. "I've said to the players, character is a hard thing to measure.
"We try and do it in the draft now, like probably most clubs.
"The talent is pretty easy to identify, the hard thing's to measure the intangibles, and character's one of those and resilience is another one - and character and resilience really only reveal themselves under adversity.
"So we'll just see how that goes, and we get an opportunity to stand up again under a bit of pressure.
"We're going to have to find some players, but that's an opportunity.
"We've had quite a few players in our emergencies multiple weeks in a row, so clearly we think they're ready."
Scott can also feel comfortable in skipper Zach Merrett leading the Bombers forward after another best-afield showing.
"He reminds me so much of Nathan Buckley in his will to win. He's so driven," said Scott.
"But Merrett also, like Nathan, backs that up with work ethic. He works on his craft every day. He's always seeking to get better ... and he expects that of his teammates.
"The other part of his game that has developed enormously is his leadership, both on and off field.
"He's always been a very good player at AFL level, but now he's taking others with him."