SMALL forward Dean Kent will miss this Sunday’s clash against Essendon at Etihad Stadium, due to a hamstring injury.

Coach Simon Goodwin confirmed Kent would sidelined for a “period of time” after he suffered the setback during Melbourne’s 46-point loss to Richmond at the MCG.

“Dean did a hamstring, so he’ll be out,” he said.

“At this stage, it’s a standard hamstring.

“So, we’ll wait and see what the medicos say.”

Goodwin said co-captain Jack Viney was still a few weeks away, but would be a much-needed addition.

“He’d be handy. He’s a really good player, Jack,” he said.

“There is no doubt, with the young midfield group that we’ve got, we need our experienced guys, and he’s a captain of our footy club, along with Nathan Jones.

“When you’re missing a guy like that for a long period of time – you miss them.

“So, we need him back and we need him playing well, and inspiring our midfield.”

Meanwhile, Goodwin said he could understand Melbourne fans would be annoyed by its past two losses.

“I can understand our supporters [being frustrated],” he said.

“But I think you’ve got to break the game [against Richmond] down a bit further. Our last quarter was disappointing, but from where we were last week to where we are this week, I think the fans would be pretty happy with the effort and intensity for three quarters.

“I couldn’t fault some of their contest work, but in the end, we played a pretty good footy team that did it for longer.”