A RETURN date hasn’t been placed on youngster Angus Brayshaw, who suffered yet another concussion, playing for Casey against the Northern Blues at Preston City Oval last Sunday.
Elite performance manager Dave Misson said the club would not rush Brayshaw, who was sidelined in rounds six and seven with concussion. He also missed six matches last year with concussion.
“Angus had another incident in the game on the weekend. Once we let that resolve and we think that’s going to resolve reasonably quickly, and then it’s a matter of him getting back to training and getting a bit of confidence back,” Misson told Melbourne TV.
“We’re not putting a timeline on it, at this stage, and we want Angus to come back, feeling well and feeling like we’ve prepared him really well to play footy again.
“[I’m] not quite sure how long that will take.”
Defender Jayden Hunt also suffered concussion last Saturday night, during Melbourne’s 41-point win over the Adelaide Crows at Adelaide Oval. But Misson was optimistic Hunt would play against the Kangaroos at the MCG on Sunday.
“Jayden was really lucid straight after the incident, once he got back to the rooms,” Misson said.
“On Saturday night, after the game, back at the hotel, he was really good and he’s been sleeping well and he hasn’t got any symptoms. He had his first run today (Tuesday) and it depends on how he pulls up from that and then we’ll get him to training on Thursday.
“At this stage, he’s ticking most of the boxes, so we’d hope he’d play.”
But rookie Corey Maynard (concussion) will be sidelined for the second successive weekend.
“Corey’s only started running. He had his first run yesterday (Monday) and he felt pretty good. He’s doing some weights today, so we’re slowing reintroducing some training into his program,” Misson said.
“He’ll be a bit short for this week, so he’ll miss another week.”
Unfortunately for first-year Demon Pat McKenna, he has had a setback with his hamstring and his return is unknown at the moment.
“He pulled up a bit short on Saturday, during a running session, so we’ve got to make a decision with Paddy and whether we continue down a conservative route with his hamstring rehab or we think about surgery,” Misson said.
“We’ll do that in the next couple of days and make a decision there.”
Misson said hard-nut Aaron vandenBerg was several weeks away and likely to return in late June or early July.
“He’s going OK and he’s probably a little bit slower than he and we would hope, but we’re still hoping six to eight weeks with Aaron,” he said.
“He’s putting some good running together and doing some good work in the gym.”
Ruckman Max Gawn (hamstring) and high-flyer Joel Smith (shoulder) remain about five to six weeks from resuming.
“Both of those guys are doing some really good work on the track. They’ve got different injuries, but they’re pretty much at the same point,” Misson said.
“Max is starting to do a little bit of work in his rehab and Joel is starting to do some really fast running and some good football work, so they’re progressing really well.”
Big man Jake Spencer (shoulder) is another three to four weeks away.
“Jake’s also done some pretty good running … so we’re starting to reintroduce strength work and trying to get his range back,” Misson said.
“He’s progressing really well.”
But key forward Tim Smith is now only a week from playing, after suffering ribs/punctured lung during Melbourne’s ANZAC Day Eve clash against Richmond.
“Tim is probably going to be available to play next week. For us, our VFL team has a bye and the AFL go to Alice Springs, but it probably depends a bit on team selection,” Misson said.
“We’re hoping Tim will be available to play next week.”
Defender Colin Garland, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, is “chipping away” with his ACL rehab, according to Misson.
“He’s going really well actually and he’s a fair way ahead of where we thought he’d be,” he said.
“He’s training well with a really good attitude.”
Melbourne injury list: round nine
Angus Brayshaw (concussion) – TBC
Colin Garland (knee) – season
Max Gawn (hamstring) – 5-6 weeks
Jayden Hunt (concussion) – test
Corey Maynard (concussion) – 1 week
Pat McKenna (hamstring) – TBC
Joel Smith (shoulder) – 5-6 weeks
Tim Smith (ribs) – 1 week
Jake Spencer (shoulder) – 3-4 weeks
Aaron vandenBerg (heel) – 6-8 weeks
