STEVEN May has been ruled out of this week’s clash with Essendon after suffering a groin injury on Saturday night.

The former Sun was making his debut for Melbourne at GMHBA Stadium, but felt pain is his groin early in the contest.

Although the key defender temporarily returned to the field against the Cats, General Manager of Football and Operations Josh Mahoney said he won’t be available for selection this weekend.

“Steven experienced some pain in his groin during the game against Geelong and as a result, wasn’t able to finish the match,” Mahoney told Melbourne Media.

May went in for scans on Monday afternoon, but the club will be awaiting further results before determining how long he will be sidelined with the injury.

“Steven has pulled up a bit sore from the game, so it has been decided that he won’t be available for selection this week,” Mahoney said.

“Given the tight time frame, we want to see how that groin settles, so we will give it some time before making an informed decision over the course of the week.”