Daw was one of the stories of the pre-season's opening round with a starring performance last Friday night against Melbourne and North Melbourne.
This season, he is set to become the first Sudanese player to play in the AFL.
Daw suffered knee swelling and the 'Roos will rest him, hoping he returns in a week.
He was only able to have some goalkicking practice at Wednesday training.
Coach Brad Scott had said on Tuesday that Daw was in doubt.
North also left top forward Drew Petrie out of their 25-man squad for Saturday's match in Townsville.