MELBOURNE’S Blaithin Mackin will be sidelined for at least the next three weeks after sustaining a calf injury in Week Four.

Mackin experienced some tightness during the Demons’ clash with Fremantle on Saturday, sitting out the majority of the game as a result. 

Scans this week confirmed the extent of the injury, with the 25-year-old to miss the next few matches. 

“Blaithin was pulled from the game in the first quarter with calf tightness,” Melbourne AFLW High Performance Manager Sam Batterton said. 

“We tested on the bench and took a conservative route, given she had some symptoms.  

“It’s been scanned at the start of this week, and she has a confirmed calf strain, so will miss this week and the next couple after that.” 

 The Demons also suffered a second injury out of the match at Fremantle Oval, with Eden Zanker sustaining a knee concern late in the game. 

“Edo has injured her patella tendon, right at the back of the game,” Batterton said.  

“The severity of that we’re unsure of at the moment. She won’t play this week, but we will do some further investigations and make a call on what a timeline looks like for her. 

“Disappointingly, throughout the early phases of this season, we have sustained a number of contact-based injuries, with Edo’s being another. 

“This is the unfortunate nature of football, and while we’re disappointed to not have them out on the field, our focus will be on providing the best possible care and support in each of their return-to-play.” 

As announced on Friday, midfielder Grace Beasley will miss the remainder of the season, rupturing her ACL last week at training. 

“Grace is obviously shattered. She will go in for surgery soon and will then begin that rehab process. 

“It’s a really disappointing outcome for both Grace and the program, and we will wrap our arms around her.” 

In more positive news, Paxy Paxman has hit the training track after missing last week’s game with a foot injury. 

“Paxy got back into some training today,” Batterton said. 

“She had a foot injury that just stirred up the week before, so she’s had the weekend off and has progressed really well.  

“She will look to be a test, to be available for this weekend.” 

Jemma Rigoni (groin) will also push for selection, having integrated into main training this week, while Saraid Taylor (calf) will set her sights for Week Six. 

“Providing Jemma pulls up well from training, she will look to be available for this weekend. 

“Saraid has made a return to running. She will look to increase to some high intensity running at the back end of this week.  

“She won’t play this week but will be one to two weeks away, so has made some really great progress.” 

Liv Purcell (facial fracture) and Lauren Pearce (scaphoid injury) have also taken some important steps in their recovery. 

“Liv has done really well the last few weeks.  

“She had a slow start, with not being able to do too much at the back of the surgery. In the last week or so, she has really upped her running into some high intensity running and into some skills work with the main group.  

“She’s still very much non-contact, but over the next few weeks she will integrate into some more training, so is probably around three to four weeks away now, which is very exciting. 

“Loz has also recovered well from her surgery. She is not able to use the hand at the moment, but otherwise can be involved in some skills work and is doing a power of running, so she is making some great progress.”