STEVEN May is expected to miss the next three games after suffering a groin injury in Melbourne’s loss to Geelong on Saturday night.

The Demons new recruit suffered some pain during his debut game for the club and wasn’t able to complete the match.

After undergoing scans earlier in the week, Elite Performance Manager David Misson said May will need some time on the sidelines.

“He’s probably likely to miss the next three games - Essendon, Sydney and St Kilda,” Misson told Melbourne Media.

“He’s had some good improvement in the backend of this week which we’ve been encouraged by, but it’s about setting him up for a good year.”

While at this stage the injury doesn’t seem too severe, Misson said it’s important for May to rest his groin and keep the bigger picture in mind.

“We don’t want him to be in and out of the team the whole time, as that would potentially put him at risk,” he said.

“So we’ll give him some good reloading time to set him up for a big year, but that means he will miss the next couple of weeks.”