A TIMEFRAME on David Rodan’s knee injury, which he suffered during the first half against the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium on Saturday, is still to be confirmed.

Coach Neil Craig confirmed post-match, after Melbourne’s 68-point loss, that Rodan’s injury looked “bad”, but said a clearer picture of the veteran’s knee injury will emerge early in the week.

“[It was] unfortunate because I thought he (Rodan) started really well,” he said.

“He’s been in good form in the VFL, so it’s disappointing for David. It’s exactly how we thought he would start, but he wasn’t able to go on with it.”

High flyer Jeremy Howe also copped a nose injury, but Craig indicated the forward will be right for the final round against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium next Sunday.

“He’ll be OK. He just got a kick in the nose and had a few stitches, so he should be OK,” Craig said.

Meanwhile, Craig spoke about the issue of sports science – in the wake of the Essendon supplements saga – and said it was up to each individual club how they viewed the area.

“I don’t want to share a personal opinion on it (the Essendon situation), but what I do know is that when everything settles down, it’ll be a great case study for concepts on leadership, player welfare, individual rights, media accuracy, trust, conflict of interest – it’ll be a fantastic case study,” he said.

“What it’s already done is, when it first started back on February 5, it immediately put every club on notice in terms of that area.

“There has been a lot of good come out of it, even though there is a bit of distaste to it.”