Key Melbourne duo Travis Johnstone and Russell Robertson are in doubt for Saturday afternoon's clash against Sydney at the MCG, according to coach Neale Daniher.

Johnstone missed his first match of the season last round when he was a late withdrawal due to hamstring soreness, while Robertson, aside from battling a knee injury throughout 2006, injured his shoulder in Melbourne's unexpected loss to the Carlton last Saturday.

Although Daniher said Johnstone is in "some doubt" against the Swans, he expanded on Robertson, adding that the high-flying forward would be monitored over the next 48 hours.

"He's (Robertson) got a bit of a sore AC (joint) and we'll just see how it pulls up over the next couple of days," Daniher said.

Versatile Demon Cameron Bruce is also suffering a corked thigh, but Daniher is confident one of the team's most important players will play this round.

"He should be OK, but we'll see how he comes through. We're confident he'll be OK," Daniher said.

"He's got a corky and what you do with corkies is that you just work through the week and some are very mild and you get up and go and he's got a corky at the moment.

"He's done a lot of work this year and we're not concerned about him losing fitness and it's just about managing it."

Daniher flagged Brad Miller, Lynden Dunn and Ryan Ferguson as "key position options" that are in the mix for a recall, while he added that forward/midfielder Shannon Motlop was an option for injured duo Aaron Davey and Byron Pickett.

"He's getting closer. His form has been OK without being outstanding," Daniher said.

"I only spoke to him the other day and I was saying: 'It's a good time to be putting in some really good games'.

"He played reasonable again on the weekend, without being outstanding and he's in the mix - he just hasn't knocked the door down just yet."

Daniher said Davey was "some chance" to return next week, while Pickett was still a "couple away at this stage". Both players have suffered hamstring injuries.