MELBOURNE has been dealt an untimely injury blow, with inspirational co-captain Nathan Jones to miss at least one month of action.
But it’s not all negative on the injury front for the Dees, with All-Australian ruckman Max Gawn a certain-starter for the club’s Round 14 match.
The vital midfielder will be sidelined for between four and six weeks after straining his quad during the early stages of Sunday’s clash against the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium.
The Demons are hopeful Jones will be fit to return after four weeks, but are also bracing to be without their skipper for potentially an extra two weeks on top of that.
“He’s got a decent strain of his rectus femoris [muscle] — his kicking leg,” Melbourne’s elite performance manager Dave Misson told the club website.
“We just want to be pretty cautious with that. Sometimes that can be a tough injury to rehab and we really want Nathan at the back-end of the season.”
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It means the Dees, who are hoping to push for finals this season, will be without Jones for crucial games against West Coast, Sydney, Carlton and Adelaide, while he could also miss matches with Port Adelaide and North Melbourne.
In better news, Gawn this weekend will return from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since Round 3.
“He’ll (Gawn) definitely play. He was the first magnet on the board in match committee,” Misson said.
Forward Jack Watts has avoided a hamstring strain, but will have to pass a fitness test on Thursday in order to secure a spot on a Perth-bound to take on West Coast on Saturday night.
“It was really precautionary taking him off in the last quarter and he subsequently pulled up pretty well post-game,” Misson said.
“So, he’ll have to do all of the training on Thursday to play, but we’d be expect him to do that.”
Neville Jetta (ankle) and Jayden Hunt (shoulder) should also be right to play after suffering injuries against the Bulldogs.
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Originally published as Key Dee sidelined, star ruck to return
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