STAR Demon James Frawley is 50/50 for Saturday’s clash against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG, due to a toe injury sustained in Melbourne’s three-point win over Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval last Saturday.
Elite performance manager Dave Misson said the Demons were hopeful Frawley would be right for round eight.
“James has strained a ligament in one of his toes – his big toe. It’s probably what you’d call a decent case of turf toe, so he’s going to be a test,” he told Dee TV.
“He’s improving every day, but he was pretty sore after the game, which is why we put him in a boot.
“He’s come in pretty good this morning (Tuesday) and he’s got another couple of days until our main training session, so we’re hoping that improvement continues and he’ll be right for the weekend.”
Another versatile tall, Jack Watts, will also be monitored for a back injury.
“Wattsy had a back spasm in the game … but he’s improved significantly since the game and we expect him to train on Thursday and be available,” Misson said.
Young-gun Jesse Hogan has been given a rest, due to his back injury.
“Jesse’s gone home for a couple of weeks and our feeling was that we needed to back him off everything,” Misson said.
“So rather than him hanging around the footy club not doing a lot, we’ve let Jesse get home for a couple of weeks and he’ll be back and into it after that.”
Misson said former co-captain Jack Trengove has started his recovery from foot surgery.
“He’s been in and out [of the club] this week, primarily doing upper body stuff, because he’s still on crutches and in a boot, and will be for the next couple of months,” he said.
“He sees it as a really good opportunity to improve his upper body strength and he’s been getting stuck into that.”
But big men Jake Spencer (ankle) and Max King (shin) are set to be sidelined until after the bye in late May.
“With Jake, we were giving him an opportunity each week to get up, but we’ve made the decision now that we’re going to hold him off until after the bye, just to let that ankle settle down a little bit,” Misson said.
“He’ll look to start to get going during that bye week and hopefully play after the bye.
“He’s just had a bit of a stress reaction to his fibula, so he’s another couple of weeks without running and then again around the bye time he’ll start to get going and hopefully play after the bye.”
Rookie James Harmes will be another week away due to a punctured lung.
“James suffered a punctured lung in the VFL game last week and he was able to see a specialist last Friday and the specialist has given him the all clear,” Misson said.
“Our feeling is that he probably needs this week to get himself back into some training and some exercise, so he won’t play this weekend, but will play next weekend.”
In better news for the Demons, midfielder Viv Michie is set to return this weekend, after missing the past four matches with a broken jaw.
“Viv with that jaw – it’ll be four and a half weeks this weekend – and the surgeon is really happy with him that he’s able to play,” Misson said.
“He’s been working hard and doing a lot of running and training without contact.
“He’ll have a normal week this week and play on the weekend.”
Melbourne injury list: round right
James Frawley (toe) – test
Jesse Hogan (back) – indefinite
James Harmes (lung) – 1 week
Max King (shin) – 4-6 weeks
Viv Michie (jaw) – available
Jake Spencer (ankle) – 3 weeks
Jack Trengove (foot) – season
Jack Watts (back) – test
