DEFENDER Jake Lever will spend time on the sidelines after entering concussion protocols and undergoing knee surgery.

The club’s High Performance Manager Selwyn Griffith provided an update on the Demon on Tuesday afternoon.

“Unfortunately, Jake suffered a concussion during that incident in the first quarter,” Griffith told Narrm Media.

“So, he's entered the concussion protocol.

“Over the last month, Jake’s been managing a knee issue, which we had been looking at possibly intervening with over the bye to allow him the best opportunity to maximize his footy at the back end of the year.

“Obviously, with him now entering the concussion protocol and definitely missing a week, but then being uncertain about how quickly he would transition through that, we've made the decision to act on intervening on that knee.

“So, he had surgery today which has gone well. He'll now progress not only from a rehab of the knee, but also through the concussion protocol to hopefully back after the bye.”

Also out of the Sunday match is an update on Jake Bowey, who rolled his ankle during a contest in the first quarter.

“Jake was able to play out the game but since then and with the flight back, he has had some swelling,” Griffith said.

“Scans have cleared him of any fracture, but he has done some damage to the ligaments around the outside of his ankle.

“We'll be working hard with Jake across the week to increase his chances of availability at the end of the week and progress him as tolerated."

In positive news for the Dees heading into Round 11, forward Jacob van Rooyen is a chance to return to the side.

Van Rooyen will need to pass some further concussion protocol markers ahead of Sunday’s game.  

“Jacob just needs to progress through the last few stages of the protocol, which are more contact-related progressions,” Griffith said.

“So, he'll integrate into that over the next 72 hours and then hopefully past the last few tests from the doctors and then will need to be cleared to be available for this weekend's game.”

Daniel Turner (calf), Charlie Spargo (Achilles), Josh Schache (foot), Marty Hore (calf) and Jake Melksham (knee) are all successfully progressing through their respective rehab programs.