JAKE Melksham is set for a longer stint on the sidelines than initially expected after being advised to keep his injured foot in the moonboot for a little bit longer.
The Demons’ star suffered the injury blow against Gold Coast in Round 8 and is expected to be out for another five to six weeks.
But in better news for Melbourne, former Suns pair Steven May and Kade Kolodjashnij are a chance to make their returns via the VFL on Saturday after a lengthy spell from the game.
Mitch Hannan and Jay Kennedy Harris both played solid minutes for Casey last weekend and will continue to push for senior selection as they approach full fitness, while Jake Lever is recovering well from a minor ankle roll in the reserves.
Michael Hibberd (collarbone), Alex Neal-Bullen (concussion) and Christian Salem (concussion) are also looking to make themselves available later in the week.
The Demons had some misfortune on the injury front against the Giants, but Max Gawn (dislocated finger) and Nathan Jones (head knock) will be fit for the trip to Darwin.
Harry Petty also went down on Sunday and will be a test after hurting his knee.
Elite Performance Manager David Misson provides an update on all injury list changes below.
Injury List
Nathan Jones | Head – Available
“He will probably have a pretty light week, but we suspect he’s going to be OK. He passed his concussion test, so we’ll just take it easy with him early in the week.”
Christian Salem | Concussion – Available
“His concussion symptoms have cleared so he just needs to complete training this week, but we expect him to play.”
Michael Hibberd | Collarbone – Test
“Hibbo is going well. He did a good rehab session yesterday, but he’ll need to tick some boxes tomorrow in order to put himself up to play.”
Kade Kolodjashnij | Concussion – Test
“Kade is looking good and is hoping to play in the VFL this week.”
Jake Lever | Ankle – Test
“Scans didn’t show a whole lot of structural damage – he’s improving each day. We’ll try to get him out to do a little bit of training, so we’ll probably know a little bit more after that session.”
Steven May | Groin – Test
“Maysie’s going well. He trained in full last week and his plan is to play VFL this week.”
Alex Neal-Bullen | Concussion – Test
“He’s probably 50/50 to play. He had another head knock at training last week – he wasn’t concussed but we were just concerned because it was two in the week. He’ll be talking to the doctor about a plan for this week, so we’ll wait and see with him.”
Harry Petty | Knee – Test
“Petty just had a minor medial ligament strain. The scan was quite good – it didn’t show a whole lot of damage. He’s still quite sore so he’ll be a test this week.”
Corey Maynard | Concussion – 1 week
“It was a pretty significant concussion, so he’s been ruled out this week and we’ll just asses him next week to see if he’ll get up for the Collingwood weekend.”
Joel Smith | Groin – 4-6 weeks
“Joel’s going OK but he’s still getting some soreness, so there’s no real change for him.”
Aaron vandenBerg | Foot – 4-6 weeks
“Vanders is going well – he’s now had five runs outside and is starting to progress his load. Importantly, he’s not getting any pain so he’s taking small steps forward.”
Jake Melksham | Foot – 5-6 weeks
“Jake’s had a little bit of a setback. He went and saw a surgeon last week who suggested he needed to stay in the moonboot for another couple of weeks. He comes out of the boot early June and he’ll need another month after that until he’s back playing.”
Neville Jetta | Knee – 6-8 weeks
“Nev’s started some running on the AlterG so that will progress to some running outside next week, then we’ll take him from there.”
Guy Walker | Shoulder – Indefinite
Aaron Nietschke | Knee – Season
