MELBOURNE has lost Aaron Davey to a knee injury ahead of Friday night's clash against Carlton, but the news isn't all bad for the Demons with Tom Scully a chance to play his first AFL game of the season next week.

Davey, 27, has struggled to find consistent form this season, but coach Dean Bailey was spared a tough decision at the selection table after the versatile utility suffered the injury in last Saturday's 20-point loss to St Kilda. 

He will undergo scans on Friday, but Bailey predicted a minimum two-week stint on the sidelines. 

Scully, 20, played 21 games in his debut year after the Demons selected him first overall at the 2009 NAB AFL Draft, but he has not played this season due to bone bruising in a knee.

He has been given the all-clear to resume with VFL affiliate the Casey Scorpions at the weekend and Bailey said his superior aerobic fitness could see him push for senior selection sooner rather than later.

"If he pulls up and trains well next week … then we've just got to make sure that his preparation is right before we throw him into a full AFL game," Bailey said on Thursday.

"That's the most important thing. We don't want to put any player straight in if there's a chance of further injury, like a soft tissue, because we're playing at an intensity that is well above VFL.

"He's missed a lot of footy. His last four or five weeks, his running has really improved significantly. He's not sore and he's not showing any signs of [pain in] his knee, but we've also got to make sure that once he gets through a game, we've got to see how he pulls up, which will be his biggest test.

"He's a super-competitive bloke, he's mentally very strong, but it would certainly test his body. It will be about how he pulls up next week."

That news is good for Melbourne in the short term, but the club is no closer to discerning where Scully's long-term future lies.

The gifted onballer has long been the subject of rumours suggesting he is a target for expansion club Greater Western Sydney next year, but Bailey said such innuendo wasn't a factor in his relationship with his player.

"I've only ever spoken to Tom, and I talk to him regularly, about his future at the Melbourne Football Club and how important he is for our future," he said.

"I don't get brought into the speculation, I don't get drawn into [discussing] those three letters, GWS, at all. My focus is making sure that he's a Melbourne player for as long as he can be. It's pretty simple how I approach him and talk to him.

"He's a very loyal person, Tommy - a very loyal young bloke." 

Friday night's encounter at the MCG will see the tenth-placed Demons attempt to upset the Blues, who are fifth on the ladder with five wins and a draw.

Carlton skipper Chris Judd is in some doubt for the game with a foot injury, but Bailey said it would be folly to assume his absence would make his team's task any easier. 

"If you think that one player is the only reason why they are where they're at … that's certainly not our approach," he said.

"They've got a number of players in good form.

"Their small forwards are seen as leading the competition in forward 50 tackles, they're kicking goals, they've got a good spread, their backs are defending particularly well, so it will be a big challenge for us.

"Regardless of who's in the team or who's out of the team, the 22 that roll out have got to show 100 per cent consistent effort."