SIMON Goodwin has revealed that defender Jay Lockhart will undergo surgery after sustaining a “pretty serious” testicle injury during Sunday’s AAMI Community Series match.
The 25-year-old was taken to hospital following a first-quarter incident for further assessment, with the coach confirming the necessary course of action post-match.
“He went into a marking contest and copped a knee,” Goodwin told media.
“That’s unfortunate for Jay, as he’s worked pretty hard at his footy over the summer.
“He’s going to miss a little bit [of footy] – how long, we’re not sure.”
Steven May was the other big concern out of the game for Demon fans.
May, who was Melbourne’s top possession-getter against the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium, came out of a marking contest worse for wear and failed to play out the last 10 minutes.
“He got a pretty heavy hit to his chest, so he’s just getting assessed by the docs – they’re just monitoring everything really,” Goodwin said.
“Speaking to Steven, he’s saying he’s fine, but the doctors have got to have a good look at him and make sure there’s nothing else involved.
“They’ve done a few [concussion] tests and it’s looking okay, but we’ll monitor that over the next few days.”
Some takeaways from our hit-out at Marvel.
— Melbourne Demons (@melbournefc) March 8, 2021
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Goodwin also confirmed that Melbourne will be without midfielder Jack Viney (foot) in its season-opener against Fremantle – he should be back by round two or three – but was hopeful of Angus Brayshaw’s fitness.
Brayshaw (foot) played in a VFL practice match on Sunday morning and will play again in a week’s time – as will Kysaiah Pickett.
“We’ve got a number of other players starting to come back in relation to round one,” Goodwin said.
“We’ve got an important game in the VFL against Box Hill next week to really finalise our preparations with our playing group and build some cohesion over the next 10 or 12 days, as we lead into round one."
Clayton Oliver (general soreness) and Christian Salem (hamstring tightness) are both expected to be back to take on the Dockers, while the likes of James Jordon and draftee Jake Bowey are in the mix for selection.
Watch Goodwin’s full post-match press conference below.
