Adelaide midfielder David Mackay has been sent directly to the AFL tribunal without a charge over the collision that left Hunter Clark with multiple fractures to his jaw.
Both players were contesting the ball when the incident occurred during the Crows' win over St Kilda on Saturday night.
But Clark came off second best and now faces at least six weeks on the sidelines.
Despite similar incidents seeing Hawthorn's Jaeger O'Meara and Gold Coast's Jarrod Harbrow cleared of wrongdoing this year, AFL match review officer Michael Christian saw fit to refer Mackay to the tribunal.
The incident was left ungraded under the standard table of offences and will now act as a test case for future head-high collisions.
Clark, who has had surgery to repair his jaw, joins an extensive St Kilda injury list.
At least 10 Saints players are already likely to be unavailable for the encounter with Richmond in round 15.
"Hunter will likely miss six to eight weeks, which is hugely disappointing," St Kilda chief operating officer Simon Lethlean said.
"He put his body on the line and head over the footy, which are some of the things we love about Hunter's game, but ultimately he's come off second best in this instance."
In other incidents assessed by the MRO, Adelaide veteran Taylor Walker was charged with striking St Kilda's Callum Wilkie and can accept a $3000 fine for his second offence.
Gold Coast's Ben King was charged with striking Fremantle's Luke Ryan and can accept a $2000 for his first offence.
