DEFENDER Neville Jetta could miss more than one match, due to concussion, according to elite performance manager Dave Misson.
Jetta, who copped an accidental knock to the head by teammate Jeremy Howe – following one of his trademark hangers against Richmond at the MCG last Friday night, was immediately ruled out by coach Paul Roos after Melbourne’s 32-point win.
Misson said Jetta would be assessed following the Freo clash at the ‘G this Sunday to see if the hard-at-it Demon would play in round six.
“He’s had a few incidents Nev, in the last five or six games, so we’re taking a conservative approach,” he told Dee TV.
“Our primary concern is to look after the player and make sure his welfare’s at the foremost of our mind, so he definitely won’t play this week. We’ll just see how he’s going next week.”
Meanwhile, Misson said professor Julian Feller had performed surgery on nuggetty forward Dean Kent on Tuesday to repair his injured hamstring.
“Unfortunately, we don’t get a lot of change out of 12 weeks with an injury like that, so hopefully the surgery goes well and Dean should be potentially running in about a month,” he said.
Versatile big man Sam Frost (fractured toe) will also remain sidelined for eight weeks, according to Misson.
“He’ll still miss a little bit of time Sam,” he said.
“He’s in a boot and on crutches for the next week or so and then it’s a matter of getting him out. Then we’ll probably rescan that toe to make sure it’s healing properly before we embark on a running rehab program.”
In better news, tough-nut Jack Viney is only about two to three weeks away from returning from a fractured fibula.
“Jack had a run on the AlterG treadmill yesterday (Monday) and pulled up pretty well, so he’ll probably do the same thing again tomorrow (Wednesday) and then look to run outside on Friday,” Misson said.
“We expect to be able to ramp Jack’s [program] up pretty quickly.
“He’s a chance to play either next week or the week after.”
Youngster Jayden Hunt is also getting closer to playing for the first time in 2015.
“He trained with the group today (Tuesday) and will do so again on Friday and he probably won’t play this weekend, but he’s a big chance of playing next weekend,” Misson said.
Rookie Mitch White missed last round’s VFL due to a toe injury.
“He had an accident on the gym, where he dropped a 50kg dumbbell on his toe, which didn’t tickle,” he said.
“He was unable to get up and play on the weekend, but he’ll be available this week.”
Misson said some variety was being added into the rehab of long-term injured pair Jack Trengove (foot) and Christian Petracca (knee).
“We’re trying to change it up a little bit for those guys, so they don’t go stir crazy, but their attitude is really good and we’re happy with their progress,” he said.
Melbourne injury list: round five
Sam Frost (fractured toe) – 8 weeks
Jayden Hunt (back) – 2 weeks
Neville Jetta (concussion) – 1 week
Dean Kent (hamstring) – 12 weeks
Christian Petracca (knee) – season
Jack Trengove (foot) – season
Jack Viney (fractured fibula) – 2-3 weeks
Mitch White (toe) – available
