FORWARDS Jake Melksham (ankle) and Tim Smith (neck/ankle) are expected to be available for the Queen’s Birthday clash against Collingwood at the MCG on Monday.
Elite performance manager Dave Misson said he was confident the pair would be right to take on the Magpies.
Meanwhile, Misson was optimistic defender Jake Lever would be available early next year, after suffering a season-ending knee injury last round.
And Dean Kent (hamstring) and Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) were edging closer to a return and are set to play in the coming weeks.
But Corey Maynard (hip) and Pat McKenna (hamstring) remain sidelined indefinitely.
Misson’s injury assessments
Dean Kent (hamstring) – 2 weeks
“Dean’s going really well. He’ll actually come in and do a little bit of training with the group on Friday and Sunday, so his plan is to play the first game after the bye. We’re really pleased with that.”
Jake Melksham (ankle) – test
“The beauty of having a longer week this week is that guys with niggles like that have got a little bit of extra time. So, we’re being pretty conservative with Jake early in the week, but we expect him to do a fair bit on Friday and then on our last session on the Sunday. While he’ll be a test, we expect him to be available.”
Jake Lever (knee) – season
“He’s OK, but he’s devastated really. He’s a professional and he’s a competitor, so he’s now focused on surgery, which is likely to happen early next week, once the swelling goes down. Then we’re already starting to talk about his rehab and different things he wants to do during that period of time to make sure he’s ready to go next year. Typically, ACL rehabs are 12 months, but some of them can be determined by the individual and how they respond to initial surgery and then the initial phases of rehab. It’s hard to say at this stage, but we’d be hoping he’d be close to being ready to play early next year.”
Corey Maynard (hip) – indefinite
“Corey keeps progressing each session he does out there with his speed and his agility. Again, we’re not putting a timeframe on Corey, but he’s steadily improving.”
Pat McKenna (hamstring) – indefinite
“Patty is due to potentially train with the group on Sunday, which is really exciting for both him and us. He’s another one who is going to need a fair bit of training before he plays. So, we’re not going to put a timeframe on him and we’ll see how things progress in the next few weeks. But, we’re pretty pleased with how he’s going.”
Tim Smith (neck/ankle) – test
“He had a couple of different things going on – neither of which are really serious – but again, we’re allowing him to settle a bit earlier in the week, and look to do most of the training at the back end of the week.”
Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) – 4 weeks
“Vanders has been ticking off some really good stuff in rehab. He’ll join in with the group on Sunday and do that training session. He’ll need a little bit more training before he plays, as he’s been out for so long. He’s probably three weeks after the bye I reckon.”
Melbourne injury list: round 12
Dean Kent (hamstring) – 2 weeks
Jake Melksham (ankle) – test
Jake Lever (knee) – season
Corey Maynard (hip) – indefinite
Pat McKenna (hamstring) – indefinite
Tim Smith (neck/ankle) – test
Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) – 4 weeks
