Melbourne’s AFL injury list continues to grow, with prime mover Jack Viney the latest star to be sidelined.
Viney sat out the second half of Friday night’s loss to Sydney at the MCG after succumbing to a plantar fascia injury in his foot.
He told the Seven Network he had been managing the issue throughout the year and it had flared up during the game.
The timing couldn’t be much worse for Melbourne, who have already lost Viney’s co-captain Nathan Jones, Jesse Hogan, Jack Watts, Jeff Garlett and Christian Salem to injuries.
Hogan and Garlett are each a slim chance to return to face Carlton next week but Watts is set to miss at least another week with his hamstring injury after suffering a setback at training.
Coach Simon Goodwin said Viney would undergo scans over the weekend but admitted the initial prognosis wasn’t positive.
“Whether it’s a tear or a partial tear, we’ll get that assessed,” he said.
“Clearly it’s not looking great for him.
“We’ll get a clearer picture tomorrow when our medical team have a really good look at him and he gets scans.
“It’s disappointing again to lose another player but once again that creates opportunity for others.”
In another blow for the Demons, veteran midfielder Jones confirmed he is at least four weeks off returning from his quad injury.
The 29-year-old said he would take a cautious approach with his recovery, having never previously experienced a significant soft tissue injury.
“Because it’s on my kicking leg as well, there is a little bit of risk or uncertainty in terms of the healing process,” he told Seven.
“I’m just going to leave no stone unturned there, and probably not push it as hard as I normally would.
“At this stage it looks like maybe a a month away.”