ELITE performance manager Dave Misson says Melbourne’s injury list will shrink after its bye weekend.
The Demons play the West Coast Eagles at TIO Stadium on July 4 and in the VFL, Casey will host Geelong at Casey Fields, also on the same day.
Misson said key talls Jesse Hogan (hamstring), Colin Garland (hand), Jack Grimes (thumb), Ben Newton (concussion) and Jayden Hunt (jaw) were among those facing fitness tests and ready to resume in the AFL or VFL.
“We didn’t have any [injuries] to come out of the weekend from either the VFL or the AFL, but we’ve got a number of players likely to be available the round after the bye,” he told Dee TV.
“Both of those guys (Hogan and Garland) have been training really well and they’ll train tonight (Thursday) at our heartland session, as will Jayden Hunt, who had some stuff done to his jaw. We expect all of those guys to be available for selection after the bye.
“Grimesy broke that thumb and he had an operation. He had plates and screws put in, rather than wires, so that’s going to dictate that he’s able to come back earlier.
“He’s been doing a lot of running and will start doing some ball work next week and potentially, he’s a chance to play next week, but more likely the weekend after West Coast.”
Rookie Aaron vandenBerg and the silky-skilled Christian Salem, who both have hamstring injuries, are out for another two and three weeks respectively.
“They’re tracking pretty well through their rehab and are starting to do some faster running and they’ll look to come into training pretty soon,” Misson said.
Forward Dean Kent (hamstring) is now about a month away from playing.
“Kenty is a bit ahead of [vandenBerg and Salem], but because of the significance of his injury, he’ll need a little bit more training time,” Misson said.
“He’s a chance to actually train next week, while we’re in Darwin, but he’ll need a couple of weeks of training, before he plays.”
Versatile tall Sam Frost (toe) remains sidelined for another six weeks.
“He’s started running and he’ll run outdoors after we come back from our four days off and it’s really a matter of seeing how that goes, once he does start running outside,” Misson said.
“But he’s done a few runs on the treadmill – the AlterG treadmill – and has pulled up pretty well.
“Hopefully it’ll be smooth sailing.”
Misson said Christian Petracca (knee) and Jack Trengove (foot), who are both out for the season, have been continuing to work hard in rehab.
“Those guys are tracking along well and Christian’s actually started running and is looking really good,” he said.
“Usually when guys do an ACL, their first month of running, they’ve got a significant limp, but he doesn’t have that, so it’s a really important two or three months for him.
“We need him to knuckle down and get stuck into it, which he has been doing, so he’s going well and Trenners is just smashing the work in the gym. He’ll have a scan in late July to determine when we do start running him.”
Key tall Cameron Pedersen (wrist) has also joined Petracca and Trengove on the sidelines for the rest of the season.
“He’s gone for the year, but when the surgeon went in to repair the damage, it wasn’t as severe as we first thought,” Misson said.
“From a medium term point of view, it’s good for Cam and it’ll mean that he has an uninterrupted off-season and hopefully he’ll come into the pre-season ready to go.”
Melbourne injury list: round 13 (bye weekend)
Sam Frost (toe) – 6 weeks
Colin Garland (hand) – test
Jack Grimes (thumb) – test
Jesse Hogan (hamstring) – test
Jayden Hunt (jaw) – test
Dean Kent (hamstring) – 4 weeks
Ben Newton (concussion) – test
Cameron Pedersen (wrist) – season
Christian Petracca (knee) – season
Christian Salem (hamstring) – 3 weeks
Jack Trengove (foot) – season
Aaron vandenBerg (hamstring) – 2 weeks
