MELBOURNE'S Colin Garland is the latest playerto suffer a pre-season setback, with the key defender set to miss four to sixweeks after undergoing surgery on his right ankle on Thursday. 

A small bone spur had been troubling Garland,who finished second in the club best and fairest last season, in recent weeks. 

Melbourne decided it was best to deal withthe problem now to give him every possible chance to be available for roundone. 

Football manager Josh Mahoney said the decisionwas the best course of action for the 25-year-old.  

"Colin has a small bonespur on his ankle, which has flared up as training intensity has increasedrecently. 

"It was deemed that thebest course of action was to have this shaved in a minor operation. 

"By having this operationnow, it will allow Colin enough time to recover before the start of the seasonand prevent the potential of it disrupting his season."

Garland has been one of the few Demons toenhance his reputation in the past two years, joining the leadership group andperforming at a consistently high level. 

He has missed just one game in the past two seasonsand demonstrated his resilience under pressure. 

Melbourne remains confident its list is in reasonableshape as it approaches the first game of the NAB Challenge series againstRichmond on February 14. 

Mitch Clark is making progress from his footinjury but no return date as been set, while Jesse Hogan, Chris Dawes, MarkJamar, Luke Tapscott, Max Gawn, Jack Fitzpatrick and Matt Jones trained in therehabilitation group on Wednesday. 

The club is taking a cautious approach withJack Viney to ensure he overcomes some foot issues from last season while it isin no rush with recruit Aidan Riley, who suffered a broken leg last season whenplaying for Adelaide.