Morris said Lake, who won't face St Kilda on Friday night because of groin soreness and a continuing lack of confidence in his knee, had not shirked his rehabilitation from his triple hit of complaints and had even completed extra sessions in a bid to boost his fitness.
"He's been doing everything that he can," Morris said on Thursday.
"The physios, the trainers, everyone has been into him and pushing him and he's just stepped up to the challenge every session that he's gone to.
"He's been doing the extra things that he can within his limitations when he was going through the rehab because he had a shoulder, hip and knee.
"It doesn't leave much else to do. He's been doing everything he can, and he'll continue doing that.
"What he's been through in the offseason with his three operations - I think people underestimate how big those operations were."
Earlier, coach Rodney Eade said he was confident Lake would miss just one week with the new issue of groin soreness that had developed while the backman battled to recapture confidence in his body.
Lake won't play at any level this weekend and will have a complete break from footy just three weeks after he returned to senior level after a VFL spell.
Morris said he was confident Lake could recapture his best form and still contribute to the team as the Dogs attempted to resurrect their 2011 campaign.
"He's come back probably earlier than most players would from those operations because of his importance in the team," he said.
"Because of that, maybe his form's had a bit of a hit but he's doing everything he can and he's got the support of all the players behind him. He'll come good.
"Brian's one of those guys - he's a proud guy and he's going to work on everything he can to get back in the team."
Eade said Lake's other issues came back to him rebuilding confidence in the knee he had operated on in the months following last season's end.
"It wasn't the same operation as a knee reconstruction but it was the same as a player coming back from that," he said.
"Brian is just lacking confidence in his movements and what he can do and it's just going to take time for him to have confidence he can do what he used to be able to do."
Barry Hall trained on Thursday at Whitten Oval but Eade said the spearhead would have at least one more week off as he battled his own confidence issues.
"Barry's a victim of [being] a player who really does want to play. The last time he played, he really wanted to get out there in the Hawthorn game and perform," he said.
"But probably in hindsight, at his age, he just needs continuity at training and needs two or three weeks so he gets confidence in his touch as well."
Rookies Luke Dahlhaus and Ed Barlow have been elevated to the senior list - one in place of injured first-year player Tom Hill and the other as a nominated rookie - and Eade expects both to face the Saints.
Adam Cooney didn't train on Thursday as part of his day on, day off training program but will play on Friday night, while Ben Hudson and Tom Liberatore are expected to be recalled.
Jayden Schofield is in the mix for his first game while Josh Hill has been dropped after the Dogs addressed him about his disappointing actions against Geelong where he dropped his hands while manning the mark of Daniel Menzel.
