A TIMEFRAME hasn’t been set on Heritier Lumumba’s return as he overcomes concussion.
Elite performance manager Dave Misson said Lumumba would continue to be monitored and no exact date had been set on his return.
“’H’ has still got some ongoing symptoms, so his return to play is a little bit open-ended at the moment,” he told Melbourne TV.
“We want him to feel better in himself, and he’ll have a little bit more testing done, before he returns to training and playing games.
“With Angus [Brayshaw, who is also sidelined with concussion], we’re looking at giving him at least a month off, and closer to the end of that period will determine his exact time frame, as to when he returns to play.”
In better news for Melbourne, utility Aaron vandenBerg is set to play this weekend for Casey, after missing the past five rounds with an ankle injury.
“Vanders is going to play VFL this week against Box Hill. He’s trained really well the past few weeks and he’s rehabbed that ankle really well and he’s looking forward to playing,” Misson said.
But Matt Jones (back) and Jay Kennedy-Harris (hamstring) remain another three weeks away each.
“Matty with his back and Jay with his hamstring – we could’ve pushed them out there to play potentially this week, but we just feel that another two weeks of training, because there is a VFL bye next week – it’ll mean that they’re three weeks away,” Misson said.
Ruckman Mitch King saw his surgeon this week as he continues his rehab from a season-ending knee injury.
“He was very happy with his progress, and he’s now on a pretty structured program with a lot of weights, and trying to build his body, so he’s going well,” Misson said.
Melbourne injury list: round nine
Angus Brayshaw (concussion) – 4 weeks
Matt Jones (back) – 3 weeks
Jay Kennedy-Harris (hamstring) – 3 weeks
Mitch King (knee) – season
Heritier Lumumba (concussion) – TBC
Aaron vandenBerg (ankle) – available
