LIVEWIRE David Rodan will see a specialist on Tuesday to determine the extent of his knee injury, suffered against the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium last Saturday.

Elite performance manager Dave Misson said it was a wait and see situation with Rodan’s knee.

“When we first had a look at it, we thought it was a medial ligament – just the mechanism of the injury,” he told melbournefc.com.au.

“He’s seeing a specialist today (Tuesday), so we’ll get a bit more information on that.

“We’re hoping it’s nothing too sinister, but we’ll know a little bit more after today (Tuesday) about that.”

Big man Jack Fitzpatrick, who missed last round with concussion, and high flyer Jeremy Howe, who suffered concussion against the Crows, will face fitness tests for the final round against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

“Fitzy missed last week with concussion. He’s a lot better this week. He’ll have to undergo all the tests to pass those,” Misson said.

“Howey had a whack to the head with a boot late in the game. He had some minor concussion after the game, but has settled really well.

“Most of his testing is clear at the moment and we probably won’t train him until later in the week, but we expect him to play.”

But Misson was pleased with the return of James Frawley and Chris Dawes, who both played against the Crows after three matches on the sidelines.

“[Dawes and Frawley] returned from a calf and a hamstring [injury] respectively, and pulled up pretty well,” he said.

“We expect them to be fine for this weekend.”

Misson confirmed speedster Sam Blease had surgery on his ankle on Monday.

“He had ankle surgery yesterday (Monday), and didn’t have as much done as we thought he might have, which is a good thing for Sam,” he said.

“He hasn’t got major structural damage in the ankle, so that augurs well for his off-season and pre-season to be able to do most of that.” 

Defender James Strauss (shoulder) will have his shoulder operated on this Thursday.

“It’s something he needs to go through and, probably luckily, he’s had this surgery before, so he knows what to expect,” Misson said.

“Being an upper body injury, he’ll be able to do most of the running in the pre-season and will probably join in training before Christmas.”

Misson said forward Shannon Byrnes, key tall Mitch Clark and midfielder Michael Evans, who all have foot injuries, were in different stages of their recovery.

“Byrnesy hurt that foot in the last game at the MCG - the Fremantle game. Again, it’s nothing too serious – we thought it might’ve been a navicular problem, but it isn’t. It’s more joint stuff. He’ll need a couple of weeks to settle down, so therefore he won’t play this week, but it’s nothing major, moving forward for him.

“Mitch is going very well. He’s even talking about doing a little bit of training with the group on Friday, so that’d please everyone, including Mitch.

“Evo had surgery on his plantar fascia last week, which has gone very well. At the moment, he’s just walking around - the wound is healing well and we expect him to have a full off-season/pre-season period.”

Dasher Daniel Nicholson will also miss the rest of the season with a groin injury.

“It’s just some groin overload. We’ve tried to back him off a bit and get him going again,” Misson said.

“It’s something that just needs a little bit of time. We’re going to give that to him and make sure he’s right for pre-season.”

Misson reiterated that young gun Jesse Hogan is doubtful to return for Casey for the finals.

“[He’s] unlikely, as he’s got some bone bruising there. He’s walking without crutches at the moment, but he’s still hobbling around a little bit,” he said.

“For Jesse, it’s going to be a bit of time, and we’re not going to take any risks with him.”

Rookie Tom Couch is a chance to return for Casey’s finals clash against Geelong at Simonds Stadium on Friday night.

“[He’s] training really strongly, Couchy, and he’s a very big chance of playing in Geelong on Friday night,” Misson said.

First year Demon Nathan Stark is also set to be sidelined due to ongoing injuries.

“He’s got a knee [and] ankle [injury]. He played a couple of weeks ago, but really wasn’t comfortable, so he’s a young kid and we really want to get him right,” Misson said.

“We’re going to give him some time to do that.”

Round 23 injury list
Sam Blease (ankle) – season
Shannon Byrnes (foot) – season
Mitch Clark (foot) – season
Tom Couch (hamstring) – test
Michael Evans (foot) – season
Jack Fitzpatrick (concussion) – test
Jesse Hogan (knee) – 4 weeks
Jeremy Howe (concussion) – test
Daniel Nicholson (groin) – season
David Rodan (knee) – season
Nathan Stark (ankle) – 2-4 weeks
James Strauss (shoulder) – season