MELBOURNE'S Josh Wagner is set to be sidelined for up to six weeks after dislocating his fibula in his side's six-point JLT Community Series win over the Western Bulldogs.

The versatile defender had scans earlier on Monday to assess the significance of the injury.

Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said Wagner had been cleared of any further structural damage to his knee or to the ligaments surrounding his fibula. 

The timeline for the injury means he is highly unlikely to be available for the start of the season.

WB v Melb: Full match coverage and stats

"It'll (the swelling in the leg) probably take a week to settle down and then he'll start running after that," Mahoney told AFL.com.au.

"At this stage, we think it's about a four- to six-week injury."

Wagner was helped from the field in the second quarter of the match after getting his right foot stuck in the ground when attempting to tackle Dogs opponent Luke Dahlhaus. 

The dislocation to Wagner's leg was suffered to the proximal tibiofibular (tib/fib) joint, an injury to the joint at the top of shin where the two shinbones meet at the knee.

A dislocation commonly occurs when the impact of the fall is suffered when the knee is in a bent position, which was the case with Wagner's injury.

Wagner did not take any further part in the match after suffering the injury in the second quarter against the Bulldogs.

It is a significant setback for the 21-year-old who averaged 17.6 disposals from 14 games in 2016.

Wagner had been one of Melbourne's best performers on the training track over the pre-season and would have pushed for a spot in the Demons' round one side.

Michael Hibberd, Neville Jetta and Jack Watts are expected to be available for the Demons' next pre-season hit-out against Carlton at Casey Fields on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Dom Tyson (knee) and Dean Kent (back) have started to increase their training loads as they race the clock to be fit for round one.