Reports have circulated in recent days that Jones has played the past few games with a break in his foot, but Lyon said on Thursday afternoon that the claims were false.
“I read the Herald Sun and almost fell off my chair,” he said.
“I went and found Clint and said you’re not playing because apparently you’ve got a broken foot.
“Everyone’s looking for a story. People run stories that aren’t accurate and I can guarantee you this, Clinton Jones hasn’t got a broken foot.
“Because if he did he wouldn’t be playing and I certainly wouldn’t be putting him to elite midfielders of the competition.”
Lyon confirmed that Gardiner would not be selected after missing the second half of last week’s drawn grand final with a hamstring injury.
“He’s out. He won’t play unless a miracle happens tonight which is really unfortunate; he’s heartbroken really,” Lyon said.
“He’s been such an important part of the group and we have spoken all year that it’s more than the 22 who run down the race. Everyone contributes,” Lyon said.
“But unfortunately for Michael the brutal reality is he’s injured and he’ll miss.”
Deposed ruckman Ben McEvoy is the logical replacement for Gardiner but Lyon admitted that he wasn’t necessarily a walk-up start after Justin Koschitzke and Jason Blake shared the ruck duties with aplomb in the second half.
“The two ruckman of Koschitzke and Blake affords us the opportunity to bring in another ruckman. We think it is going to be quite brutal in the running stakes; it’s something we’re really considering strongly but as yet we’ve got to get through our final training session,” Lyon said.
“We’ll wait and see what comes out. We’ll pick 25 to play and there’s always the possibility of a late change.”
Lyon said the build-up to this week’s replay had felt a little different to the previous week but that he had enjoyed the lead-in to both games.
“We certainly enjoy the traditional grand final week. The parade’s exciting and brings Melbourne to life. The Brownlow Medal’s always a great event. All it is is some extra load on you but it’s certainly more enjoyable,” he said.
“This has been more routine obviously, if you can call a grand final routine. I have no preference but I’ve enjoyed both weeks.”
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