'No way' the Canberra Capitals hit panic button to rush Kelsey Griffin back

The Capitals are licking their wounds following a nightmare 102-69 loss at the hands of the struggling Townsville Fire at Townsville Stadium on Friday night.

Griffin's absence due to a high ankle sprain has exposed a chink in the armour of the reigning champions, who have now dropped four of their past six matches.

A 33-point defeat in Townsville is arguably the lowest point of Canberra's season to date and threatens to all but end the club's top two aspirations.

The Capitals seemed to have little answer for a Townsville onslaught on a forgettable night punctuated by the Fire's domination in the rebound stat line and Kia Nurse shooting 6-22 from the field.

But Goriss will steer clear of the panic button with the league's reigning most valuable player sitting on the sidelines.

Griffin looms as an outside chance to play against the Melbourne Boomers at the National Convention Centre but Goriss concedes her return date is still "up in the air".

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"Last week the medical team floated the idea that she might play this weekend and I was just like 'no way'," Goriss said.

"She hasn't had a full week of practice and I'm not playing somebody with her injury history without a full week of practice. We don't want to risk her, we want to make sure she is alright for the finals.

"There's some talk she might be ready to play some limited minutes next weekend but it's really going to depend on how she pulls up after each session.

"Right now she is only doing conditioning work and a little bit of basketball, so she's not into any competitive basketball stuff yet, not even one-on-one.

"It's hard to tell because it's just ongoing every day as to how she pulls up from the workload as she progresses through her rehab.

"Hopefully by the time we leave for the FIBA window, she is back playing some minutes with the group so we get some groove and cohesiveness before we go."