MELBOURNE midfielder James Harmes remains a chance to get up for Saturday night's clash against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval despite having surgery to fix a broken bone in his hand. 

Harmes went under the knife on Monday after he suffered the injury during the heartbreaking two-point loss to Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.

DEMON HEARTBREAK Cats win it after the siren

The 22-year-old broke his hand late in the contest, left the field for a brief moment but came back onto the ground and finished the game. 

"He's gone in for an operation to fix the bone and have a plate inserted into his hand today (Monday)," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney told melbournefc.com.au 

"At this stage, with the operation going well and the wound healing, he's still a chance to play this weekend against Adelaide." 

Harmes' teammate Clayton Oliver broke a finger against Gold Coast in round eight but underwent surgery and played the following week against Carlton, wearing a glove to protect the injury. 

Harmes was one of Melbourne's best players against the Cats, keeping Geelong skipper Joel Selwood to just 16 disposals – his lowest tally of the season.

With Selwood kept in check, the Demons' coaching staff moved Harmes onto Patrick Dangerfield in the final quarter to try to curtail his influence. 

The young midfielder has averaged a career-high 19.6 disposals from 17 matches this year and recently signed a three-year contract extension until the end of 2021.