Askew will miss the Kangaroos’ clash against Merrivale at Mack Oval today due to persistent cramping which has marred his opening fortnight.

The club captain suffered cramp early in the second half of the loss to Deakin University in round one, which trainers put down to the warm conditions.

But a recurrence of the problems against Nirranda last weekend — at the same stage of the match — sparked concerns the issue was more serious.

Russells Creek coach Jay Everall said Askew had blood tests during the week which revealed an abnormality in his muscles.

“Don’t ask me the technicalities but there’s some reading in your blood that tracks the leakage from your muscles when you’re fatigued,” he said.

“Normal reading when you’re standing is about 200. When you’ve been doing some strenuous exercise it goes up to 700 or 800.

“Marcus had two blood tests this week and both were after work, he was just cruising along. The first reading was 2200 and on the second day is about 2250.

“There’s some issue with the ability of his muscles to operate without fatiguing. It’s a really strange one at the moment, he’s going to get some further tests.”

Everall said the issue was “a real source of frustration” for Askew. The setback comes a week after confirmation of a season-ending knee injury to Troy McCormack.

“He’s been super keen, done all the training and was looking forward to a good year. He hasn’t been able to get some continuity in his footy,” Everall said.