MELBOURNE’S defensive stocks will receive a boost in Round 20, with Jake Lever set to return from his shoulder injury.

After just one week on the sidelines, senior coach Simon Goodwin confirmed the All-Australian backman will be fit to face the Dockers on Friday night.

“Jake Lever will be fine to go,” he said.

 “He was obviously pretty close last week but he will train fully today and he will play.”

But the news isn’t as positive for Ben Brown, who will miss a second match with knee soreness.

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“Unfortunately, Ben won’t play,” Goodwin said.

“He’s still a little bit sore in that knee and obviously with the short turnround we want to really set him up in a position where he can play his best footy for the remainder of the year.

Prior to last weekend’s clash with the Dogs, the key forward hadn’t missed a match since Round 5, but the club is taking a cautious approach with the knee that has caused Brown pain in years gone by.

“We’re really confident we’re on top of it,” Goodwin said.

“It’s an on-going thing that he’s going to have for the rest of his career and something we’ve had to manage for a long period of time now already with Ben.

“It was just getting a little bit sore, a little bit more wear and tear within his knee.

“We wanted to make sure we give him some time off, set him up the right way, get some training into him and bring him back and get his best footy back to where we know he can play.”