A calf injury will sideline Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe, the week after he emerged as an important figure in Jaidyn Stephenson's AFL betting saga.
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Howe hurt himself in Sunday's scrappy win over the Western Bulldogs and thinks he will miss up to two games.
"I've done a little bit of damage to a previous injury, but if I'd continued to play potentially it could have been worse," Howe said.
"I can't imagine I'd be playing for one, maybe two weeks."
Last week, the league banned Stephenson for 10 games after it was revealed he had bet on the AFL.
It also emerged that Stephenson sought out his teammate Howe for advice before he went to the club about his transgression.
"It's uncomfortable, but the way Stevo handled it, first and foremost, he was the one who was keen to seek out a higher opinion," Howe said.
"It was his honesty, he wanted to take it further with the club."
Later on Monday, Howe told Fox Footy's On The Couch program that Stephenson had made a silly error.
"He took his own path, to go seek out Walshy (Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh) because clearly it was a guilty conscience ... he knew he was doing the wrong thing.
"That's a price that we all have to play as a club, but at no stage are we going to leave him behind."
Australian Associated Press
