DEFENDER Neville Jetta will be right to play against North Melbourne at Blunstone Arena on Saturday, but ruckman Max Gawn will face a fitness test, says elite performance manager Dave Misson.
Jetta rolled his ankle at training on Tuesday and Gawn hurt his ankle during last round’s win over Port Adelaide at the MCG. But Misson was confident Jetta would make the trip to Hobart and Gawn was a good chance.
“It (Jetta’s injury) was a really innoxious incident. He rolled his ankle on a footy. He’ll be OK – he’ll be fine. He’ll train on Thursday and be right to go,” he told Melbourne TV.
“He (Gawn) hurt it in the third quarter and it blew up after the game.
“It was quite swollen after the game, but he’s pulled up really well and we’re being pretty conservative with him early in the week. Again, we expect him to do some work on Thursday and play.”
Misson said co-captain Jack Viney, ball-winner Dom Tyson, versatile tall Jack Watts and half-back Christian Salem had recovered well after they returned from injury against the Power.
“All were really good. Jack [Viney] was a little bit sore after recent surgery and then going straight into a game,” he said.
“Again, we’re not getting him to do too much early in the week, although he had a run on the treadmill on Tuesday. We expect him to do some training on Thursday and play.
“Dom, Wattsy and Christian Salem all pulled up well.”
Midfielder Angus Brayshaw is also set to play again this week, after he returned for Casey last weekend, having been sidelined for much of the season with concussion.
“He played 85 to 90 minutes and got through really well,” Misson said.
“He had a bit of the footy and felt good being out there again, so he’ll back up again this week for Casey.”
Misson said co-captain Nathan Jones was getting closer to resuming.
“He’s doing a lot of training with the group now, but he’s still got a few boxes to tick with that right leg kicking,” he said.
“He’ll be a test, but he’ll be more likely to be next week than this week.”
Misson said left-footer Dean Kent had surgery on his shoulder after suffering the injury against the Adelaide Crows at TIO Stadium in round 17.
“He had a minor operation, just to clean out a lot of the stuff with his shoulder, after he had that dislocation,” he said.
“He’s a lot freer now and he’s able to do some rehab work and we’re hoping that he’s able to get out on the track and have his first run on Saturday.
“But he’s going OK.”
Rookies Mitch White (hamstring) and Lochie Filipovic (hip flexor) will be sidelined for at least a month and the rest of the season respectively.
“Unfortunately, [Mitch injured his hamstring] in a tackle. He was lunging in a tackle, so he’s going to miss four to six weeks with that,” Misson said.
“Lochie has been battling with that hip now for four to six [weeks]. He had an injection a few weeks ago, but it hasn’t really settled down.
“He’s actually going to go in for surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) and we just want to set him up so he has a good off-season and pre-season.”
The experienced Colin Garland (knee), utility Aaron vandenBerg (heel), forward Tim Smith (navicular bone) and first-year Demon Pat McKenna (hamstring) are in different phases as they recover from season-ending injuries.
“Paddy McKenna just had a minor setback a couple of weeks ago and we’re putting him into a pretty solid strength phase, but he won’t play again this year,” Misson said.
“Garlo’s going well. He’s started doing some footy work in rehab. Vanders is getting his walking kilometres up and doing some more endurance in that calf and foot.
“Tim Smith is seeing the surgeon next week to hopefully throw the crutches away, so he can walk normally in that moon boot for a few more weeks.”
Melbourne injury list: round 19
Lochie Filipovic (hip flexor) – season
Colin Garland (knee) – season
Max Gawn (ankle) – test
Neville Jetta (ankle) – available
Nathan Jones (quadriceps) – test
Dean Kent (shoulder) – 6 weeks
Pat McKenna (hamstring) – season
Tim Smith (navicular bone) – season
Aaron vandenBerg (heel) – season
Mitch White (hamstring) – 4-6 weeks
