MELBOURNE veteran Nathan Jones has avoided any serious damage to his hamstring after a scare at training on Thursday.

Jones left the training track early and was sent for scans which thankfully revealed no major damage.

In good news for the Demons utility, he will likely be set for a return to football as early as next weekend.

The Demons confirmed earlier on Thursday that out-of-contract forward Sam Weideman would play his first game of the season, replacing young ruck/forward Luke Jackson who injured his finger against the Swans.