HARRISON Petty will need to pass one more test to be available for this Sunday’s match against Sydney.
Melbourne’s AFL doctor Jacob Jewson has provided an in-depth update on the defender’s condition following an incident during Round 6.
“Harrison’s presentation on Sunday last week was obviously an unusual one and our role was to make sure that his health and wellbeing were looked after,” Jewson said.
“We needed to make sure that he was safe to return to play, so we started with the concussion protocols, because we couldn't really rule it out at the time.
“He’s gone and had extensive testing done, he’s consulted with multiple world-leading specialists, particularly looking at the brain and heart.
“Thankfully, we were able to rule out any sort of dangerous condition, and the diagnosis is a vestibular migraine.
“A vestibular migraine is a migraine that predominantly affects the balance centres in the brain, which is why it made him very dizzy, but also why his symptoms were quite short-lived.
“The consensus from all the experts is that it's not concussion related, but going through that protocol has allowed us time to consult with all these people and to ensure he has recovered properly.
“We can build him up safely with his training now and make sure it's safe for him to return to play. He'll continue through the protocols, which means he'll need to full train on Friday to be available to play.”
Aidan Johnson will also need to pass a fitness test this week after he was managed due to hip and groin soreness.
“AJ experienced some hip and groin symptoms following a training session,” Jewson said.
“With our current schedule, we looked to ensure that we had AJ well placed to return to high performance, which meant that we rested him.
“That has allowed him to be right to return to full training and the plan at this stage is for AJ to return to full training this week, and we'll assess his availability following our main session on Friday.”
Xavier Lindsay has also been managed over the last two weeks due to symptoms also affecting his hip and groin.
“Xavier presented with some hip and groin pain following our game against Essendon,” Jewson said.
“Unfortunately, he was then unable to train as a result and given he is a young athlete and his welfare is at the forefront of our care, we wanted to ensure that he was completely clear of any symptoms before returning to play.
“He's returned to running and we’ll continue to build up his tolerance to training over the next one to two weeks.”
Trent Rivers looks to be nearing a return to footy after following a knee concern.
“Trent has been responding well to being managed due to his knee issue, which he has had across the last couple of weeks,” Jewson said.
“We're continuing to build his tolerance to high-intensity exercise and team training. It's unlikely he'll be available this week, however, he is completing a heavy training block at the moment and will hopefully be available in the coming weeks.”
Christian Salem has taken some positive steps in his rehab of a foot fracture.
“Christian continues to progress from the foot fracture he sustained in Round 5,” Jewson said.
“He was able to get into some light running on the weekend and will continue to build his tolerance to training and running across the next week.
“It's unlikely he'll be available in the coming weeks while we build him back up to train with the team.”
Jake Melksham will continue through his next rehab phase of a syndesmosis injury.
“Jake continues to recover from his ankle injury and is looking to ramp up some intensity of that this week,” Jewson said.
“He won’t integrate into training just yet, and so will likely still miss the next couple of weeks. We’ll determine his return to play following this next phase of his rehab.”
As confirmed on Saturday night, midfielder Jai Culley has been sidelined for the remainder of the season, set to undergo a knee reconstruction after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
Shane McAdam (Achilles), Tom Campbell (neck) and Jack Viney (Achilles) all continue to work through their respective rehab programs.
“Jack has returned to full training over the last few weeks and completed the VFL training session on the weekend,” said Selwyn Griffith, Melbourne’s AFL High Performance Manager.
“He’s been able to build his exposure to match intensities, which has been a really pleasing sign for Jack.
“He’ll return through the VFL this Sunday.”
“Blake has recovered well from having surgery on his fractured arm,” Griffith said.
“He returned to running this week and will have some contact modifications for the next couple of weeks.
“He will then have a surgical review and then following that review, we’ll be able to redefine Blake’s return to contact and full training progressions.”
“Tom has been managing some ongoing shoulder discomfort following the VFL Round 19 game,” Griffith said.
“Off the back of imaging and discussions with external experts, it has been recommended that he has a surgical consultation.
“We won’t see Tom play football against this year, with the likelihood of shoulder surgery to be this week.”
“Following the VFL game against North Melbourne, Jed reported some knee soreness which we followed up with scans,” Griffith said.
“Unfortunately, they revealed that he had ruptured his PCL. Following a surgical consultation, the recommendation was for Jed to have a PCL reconstruction. It’s incredibly unfortunate news for Jed who had worked really hard to return to play this year.
“This means that Jed will be sidelined for the remainder of the season and we’ll put the best plans in place to return him to peak performance in the new year.”
“Brody had some follow up scans and a review from the surgeon, which have pleasingly cleared him to begin to increase some of his physical activity, which means he’s been able to return to running and strength work in the gym,” Griffith said.
“This is a really positive sign for Brody as he recovers from that neck surgery.”
“Jai is recovering well from his knee reconstruction and is in the early phases of his program, which is predominately focused on getting his range of motion back and beginning strength work,” Griffith said.
“Andy went in for surgery today following his ACL injury,” Griffith said.
“Once he recovers from that surgery, we’ll begin to progress him through the first stages of his knee rehab.”
“Jack has returned to full training over the last few weeks and completed the VFL training session on the weekend,” said Selwyn Griffith, Melbourne’s AFL High Performance Manager.
“He’s been able to build his exposure to match intensities, which has been a really pleasing sign for Jack.
“He’ll return through the VFL this Sunday.”
“Blake has recovered well from having surgery on his fractured arm,” Griffith said.
“He returned to running this week and will have some contact modifications for the next couple of weeks.
“He will then have a surgical review and then following that review, we’ll be able to redefine Blake’s return to contact and full training progressions.”
“Tom has been managing some ongoing shoulder discomfort following the VFL Round 19 game,” Griffith said.
“Off the back of imaging and discussions with external experts, it has been recommended that he has a surgical consultation.
“We won’t see Tom play football against this year, with the likelihood of shoulder surgery to be this week.”
“Following the VFL game against North Melbourne, Jed reported some knee soreness which we followed up with scans,” Griffith said.
“Unfortunately, they revealed that he had ruptured his PCL. Following a surgical consultation, the recommendation was for Jed to have a PCL reconstruction. It’s incredibly unfortunate news for Jed who had worked really hard to return to play this year.
“This means that Jed will be sidelined for the remainder of the season and we’ll put the best plans in place to return him to peak performance in the new year.”
“Brody had some follow up scans and a review from the surgeon, which have pleasingly cleared him to begin to increase some of his physical activity, which means he’s been able to return to running and strength work in the gym,” Griffith said.
“This is a really positive sign for Brody as he recovers from that neck surgery.”
“Jai is recovering well from his knee reconstruction and is in the early phases of his program, which is predominately focused on getting his range of motion back and beginning strength work,” Griffith said.
“Andy went in for surgery today following his ACL injury,” Griffith said.
“Once he recovers from that surgery, we’ll begin to progress him through the first stages of his knee rehab.”
