Tom Stewart has become the second Geelong AFL defender to be struck down by illness in the space of four days.

Stewart was sent home from the club’s training base on Monday morning with what he suspected was a bout of gastro-enteritis or food poisoning.

Fullback Tom Lonergan was a last-minute withdrawal from last Friday night’s semi-final win over Sydney, also due to food poisoning.

The Cats play Adelaide in a preliminary final at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.

Mature-age recruit Stewart also suffered a hamstring strain in the 59-point win over the Swans, although he said the scans had been positive and he hoped to be fit to take on the Crows.

Midfielder Cam Guthrie faces a race against time to prove his fitness after missing one match with a calf injury.

Geelong and Adelaide have split their two matches this year, with the Cats getting up on home soil by 22 points in round 11 and the Crows turning the tables by 21 points at the Adelaide Oval in round 18.

Geelong skipper Joel Selwood was unsure whether gun midfielder Patrick Dangerfield would again start at full-forward, as he did to such devastating effect with a four-goal haul against Sydney.

“He’s played some great footy for us throughout the middle of the ground too,” Selwood said on Monday.

“It’s up to the coach I guess and Patty will have a pretty fair say in it too, where he thinks he’ll best start.

“We obviously think he can stretch backlines because he’s so dominant as a forward also, but I do like lining up next to him in the middle.”

Selwood said he had pulled up well from the two finals against Richmond and Sydney after missing the last three rounds of the home and away season as he recovered from ankle surgery.

“It actually isn’t too bad,” he said.

“It is an injury where once it has been fixed it’s pretty much fine.

“It’s pretty solid, probably more solid than it was before I did the injury.”