MELBOURNE will be without Michael Hibberd for at least the next fortnight, with the defender continuing to battle a calf concern.
Hibberd has missed the opening two rounds of the Demons’ AFL campaign after sustaining the injury in the later stages of the pre-season.
GM of AFL Performance Alan Richardson said the 32-year-old is still a couple of weeks away from being fit and ready to go.
“Hibbo hasn’t progressed in his rehab as quickly as we expected,” Richardson told Melbourne Media.
“He is still working on getting his calf right and while it’s tricky to determine exactly how far off he is, we’re probably looking at two to four weeks.
“As with all injuries, his return will depend on how he responds once his training load increases.”
Hibberd will again be joined by Jake Lever on the sidelines this week, having already been ruled out to face Essendon on Friday night.
The defender, who ruptured his plantar fascia in the lead-up to the season, is expected to be in the frame next week though, as he looks to push for selection in Round 4.
“Jake is still experiencing a bit of swelling and pain in his foot,” Richardson said.
“We thought he might be playing as early as this week, but that won’t be the case. It looks like he’ll need at least need another week, which is disappointing, but we don’t want to risk anything there.”
In other news, Harrison Petty has made some progress with his calf and is likely to be two to three weeks away, while Daniel Turner (foot) and Christian Salem (knee) have added in some light skill work after their respective injuries.
Kade Chandler will need to test his fitness this week after experiencing a significant corky in his thigh during Casey’s VFL match on the weekend.
Injury List
Kade Chandler
Quad | Test
Jake Lever
Foot | 1-2 weeks
Michael Hibberd
Calf | 2-4 weeks
Harry Petty
Calf | 2-3 Weeks
Daniel Turner
Foot | 4-6 Weeks
Christian Salem
Knee | 5-7 Weeks
