Giga Kick's autumn campaign is up in the air after the star sprinter scanned poorly during the week.
Trainer Clayton Douglas revealed on Wednesday morning that the four-year-old's latest check-up showed that his recovery from the issue that forced his early withdrawal from the Spring Carnival had not been as he would have hoped.
"We just have to send him up for scans and ultrasound so we can get a fair assessment on how it's travelling and it's come back that it hasn't healed like we would have hoped it had at this point," Douglas told RSN927.
"It's a little bit more time he just needs for the healing process to happen.
"At this stage the horse is nice and well and healthy, but unfortunately we're just on the back foot at the moment."
Giga Kick has not raced since the Group 2 McEwen Stakes at The Valley in September, when he was upstaged by Imperatriz, with his subsequently found to be suffering from a gluteal muscle issue.
The latest setback means last year's The Everest winner is unlikely to be ready for the $1 million Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington on February 17 but Douglas has not given up hope of seeing the winner of seven of his 11 starts back at the races before he turns five.
"He's likely to miss the Lightning Stakes at this point," Douglas said.
"Nothing's set in stone yet, we'll just make sure he's 100 percent right.
"We'll know more in the next couple of weeks, he'll have another check up on where it's at, and we'll have more of an assessment then.
"We're still hopeful that we're going to be able to see him in the autumn."
