MELBOURNE’S injury list has grown by one this week with Tom McDonald hurting his ankle against the Bombers, but there has been some good progress for a number of the other hampered Demons.
Elite Performance Manager David Misson said Charlie Spargo has made a successful recovery from his jaw injury and will be putting his hand up for selection this week.
“Charlie is clear to go. He ticked off some contact work on Monday so he’s available for either AFL or VFL this week,” Misson told Melbourne Media.
Jeff Garlett is also officially clear of his shoulder concern after playing in the VFL on Sunday, while Jordan Lewis is edging closer to a return.
Tom McDonald will be given every opportunity to recover from his ankle injury in time for Thursday night’s clash with the Swans but could be “touch and go” due to the early schedule.
Misson provides an update on all injury list changes below.
Injury List
Tom McDonald | Ankle – test
“It was a pretty solid roll of his ankle. He’s a real professional and he’s been looking after it really well. We’re pretty confident he’ll get up and get the job done, but we’ll wait and see.”
Jordan Lewis | Hamstring – 1 week
“If it was a Saturday game this week he probably would’ve gotten up, but he’s probably just a session or two short. We’re expecting him to essentially tick his rehab off by the end of this week, then have a normal training week next week and be available to play.”
Steven May | Groin – 2-3 weeks
“Steven’s getting better every day. He’ll either have a run on Wednesday or Friday, and then it’ll be about how much work we think he needs to set him up for a good year. He’s got some good work behind him but obviously he’s been pretty disjointed the last month.”
Aaron vandenBerg | Foot – 4-6 weeks
“He had his first run outside on Monday. It’s now just about deciding how much time he needs to prepare him for the rest of the season.”
Joel Smith | Groin – TBA
“Joel’s another one who is feeling better each day but he’s going to be a little bit slower. He had a bit more significant damage there. He may run this week but probably next week I would say.”
Jake Lever | Knee – 6-8 weeks
“Jake’s training with the group without doing all the contact this week and next week. Then after next week he probably needs a month of full contact training before we let him play a game.”
Mitch Hannan | Knee – 6-8 weeks
Jay Kennedy Harris | Knee – 10-12 weeks
Guy Walker | Shoulder – indefinite
Aaron Nietschke | Knee – season
