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.
“Aidan integrated into main training last week but unfortunately he was unable to get through the full training successfully, which is why he was unavailable for selection,” Griffith said.
“We’ll continue to work with him to ensure he’s ready for a return as soon as possible, with the hope that he’s able to successfully integrate into training this week.”
“Trent had a really good week on the track last week integrating back into the main group,” Griffith said.
“We’ll look to continue that integration this week, with his availability determined by his performance and function in training.”
“Jake had a really good training session on the weekend and so we’ll look to ramp up his intensity and agility this week,” Griffith said.
“Our goal now, is that he’ll integrate into main training next week.”
“Christian has been unable to progress his running intensity,” Griffith said.
“We’ll continue to work with him on that, with the aim to have him return to main training as quickly as possible, but it’s likely he’ll be unavailable for the coming weeks.”
“Xavier returned to running last week, but unfortunately, he’s presented with soreness from that progression,” Griffith said.
“We want to ensure that his strength and function is at a level that allows him to perform at his best, so at this stage, we’ve pushed his return back a couple of weeks.”
“Unfortunately, Brody experienced pain after that tackle in the first quarter and scans have shown he suffered a moderate-grade hamstring strain,” said Selwyn Griffith, the club’s AFL High Performance Manager.
“He was back in at the club today and has started to progress through our hamstring reconditioning protocol.”
“Shane continues to work hard recovering from that Achilles rupture,” Griffith said.
“He’s just looking to build his training integration and high intensity running before we see him return to play in the coming weeks.”
“Tom was involved in an innocuous collision at training and has suffered a neck injury,” Richardson said.
“He’s torn a ligament and will remain in a neck brace for the next month. He’ll see a neurosurgeon this week to determine the path forward for him.”
“Unfortunately for Jai, scans have confirmed that he has ruptured his ACL, which will require a knee reconstruction,” Richardson said.
“It’s a really tough blow for him, particularly given the way he has been going about his footy and the consistency he has been able to build this year.”
“We have no doubt Jai will attack his rehab with the same professionalism he brings to his footy and we will ensure that he gets all the support he needs from our people through the recovery period.”
“Aidan integrated into main training last week but unfortunately he was unable to get through the full training successfully, which is why he was unavailable for selection,” Griffith said.
“We’ll continue to work with him to ensure he’s ready for a return as soon as possible, with the hope that he’s able to successfully integrate into training this week.”
“Trent had a really good week on the track last week integrating back into the main group,” Griffith said.
“We’ll look to continue that integration this week, with his availability determined by his performance and function in training.”
“Jake had a really good training session on the weekend and so we’ll look to ramp up his intensity and agility this week,” Griffith said.
“Our goal now, is that he’ll integrate into main training next week.”
“Christian has been unable to progress his running intensity,” Griffith said.
“We’ll continue to work with him on that, with the aim to have him return to main training as quickly as possible, but it’s likely he’ll be unavailable for the coming weeks.”
“Xavier returned to running last week, but unfortunately, he’s presented with soreness from that progression,” Griffith said.
“We want to ensure that his strength and function is at a level that allows him to perform at his best, so at this stage, we’ve pushed his return back a couple of weeks.”
“Unfortunately, Brody experienced pain after that tackle in the first quarter and scans have shown he suffered a moderate-grade hamstring strain,” said Selwyn Griffith, the club’s AFL High Performance Manager.
“He was back in at the club today and has started to progress through our hamstring reconditioning protocol.”
“Shane continues to work hard recovering from that Achilles rupture,” Griffith said.
“He’s just looking to build his training integration and high intensity running before we see him return to play in the coming weeks.”
“Tom was involved in an innocuous collision at training and has suffered a neck injury,” Richardson said.
“He’s torn a ligament and will remain in a neck brace for the next month. He’ll see a neurosurgeon this week to determine the path forward for him.”
“Unfortunately for Jai, scans have confirmed that he has ruptured his ACL, which will require a knee reconstruction,” Richardson said.
“It’s a really tough blow for him, particularly given the way he has been going about his footy and the consistency he has been able to build this year.”
“We have no doubt Jai will attack his rehab with the same professionalism he brings to his footy and we will ensure that he gets all the support he needs from our people through the recovery period.”
