STEVEN May is the latest Demon to be added to the injury list after hurting his groin during Melbourne’s Round 2 loss to Geelong.
The key defender didn’t play out the game on Saturday night and Elite Performance Manager David Misson said he will be sidelined this week.
“We’re still gathering information and looking to make a final diagnosis in the next couple of days,” Misson told Melbourne Media.
“He’s obviously going to miss this week but hopefully not too many more.”
May isn’t the only Demon under a fresh injury cloud, with Charlie Spargo copping a knock to the jaw in the Casey Demons’ VFL practice match on Saturday.
But there’s positive news for Tim Smith (calf) and Harry Petty (foot), with the pair being cleared of their respective injuries after successfully playing in the VFL on the weekend.
Jeff Garlett should also be available for selection in Round 3 after overcoming a shoulder injury.
Misson provides an update on all injury list changes below.
Injury List
Jeff Garlett
Shoulder – available
“Jeff’s just come off the track now and was put through a pretty solid shoulder rehab session. We’re pretty confident that Jeff’s ready to go, so he’ll be available this week, it’s just up to the match committee to decide which team he will play for.”
Charlie Spargo
Jaw – 1 week
“Charlie had a whack to the jaw in the VFL game on Saturday. He’s got a little fracture there that was operated on last night. He had a plate put in that, so he’ll miss this week but is likely to play next week.”
Steven May
Groin – TBC
“The initial report is quite good in that there’s nothing too serious going on there, but we obviously want the pain to settle down and then it’s about how we reload him and get him back to playing.”
Jordan Lewis
Hamstring – 1-2 weeks
“Jordy’s tracking really well. He won’t play this week but he’s looking to do some faster running on Friday, then it’s all about whether we make him available for next week or the week after.”
Aaron vandenBerg
Foot – 3-5 weeks
“Vanders started running on the Alter G treadmill this week with the view to running outside next week. Again, it’s a bit about how quickly we want to ramp his return to play seeing he’s probably missed two to three weeks already now, so it’s probably going to be a similar period before he’s back.”
Joel Smith
Groin – TBA
“Joel’s still settling down. He’s been progressing pretty well, but he hasn’t started running yet. We’ll probably give him another week or so before he does that, then he’ll need probably two to three weeks at least to reload, but again, his rehab plans and return to play plans are still a bit up in the air.”
Mitch Hannan
Knee – 6-8 weeks
“We’re not putting a final definitive timeline on Mitch but he’s going really well – doing some good work out on the training track. He’s started some agility and one-on-one skill work so we’re hoping he’s well and truly into his return to play.”
Jake Lever
Knee – 6-8 weeks
“He’s done a couple of sessions with the main group. He’ll do a VFL session with our VFL team this week, then look to join in with the main group next week. Then he’ll obviously need a month to six weeks of training before he plays just to put him in a good position for the rest of the year.”
Jay Kennedy Harris
Knee – 10-12 weeks
“Jay is off his crutches so he’s doing some walking and strength work this week with the view to potentially running in the next couple of weeks.”
