MELBOURNE'S Jeff Garlett has avoided surgery on his right shoulder, but the injury will still sideline the forward for four to six weeks, ruling him out of the start of the home and away season.
Meanwhile, the Demons have provided a timeline on Jake Lever's return to the field following a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee with the defender still likely to be sidelined for a further three to four months as part of his recovery.
Garlett dislocated his shoulder in a marking contest during the third term of the Demons' JLT Community Series clash with Richmond in Shepparton on Sunday.
The injury is a blow for the 29-year-old who was looking to re-establish himself back in Melbourne's line-up after falling out of favour in 2018.
FULL INJURY LIST Who's racing the clock for round one?
"He consulted with a surgeon yesterday who advised that we don’t go down the surgical option, which is sort of what we thought after the injury anyway," Demons elite performance manager Dave Misson told melbournefc.com.au.
"It came back in (the shoulder) pretty easily so now it's a matter of strengthening up that joint and making sure he can function properly.
"He's probably going to be four to six weeks."
Misson, however, warned of the possibility of surgery if the injury was to occur again in 2019.
"I wouldn't say he's not going to need surgery, because he could come back and play his first game and it pops out again, and then we may have to operate," Misson said.
Misson said the Demons would remain patient with how they approach Lever's injury after the 23-year-old returned from a visit with world-renowned sports injury specialist Bill Knowles in Philadelphia.
"He (Lever) got back today and had a really good week. He did a lot of good work, so it's about him getting back into the program and starting some more specific footy work," Misson said.
High-flying forward Mitch Hannan will also be monitored closely after dual surgery on his knee.
"Mitch obviously had the surgery before camp (in January) and he won't start running outside until next week," Misson said.
"He's probably eight to 12 weeks away, depending on how he goes. We're not really sure how his knee is going to cope with the loading but hopefully it's in that time frame."
Recruit Kade Kolodjashnij (adductor) is set to be another 3-4 weeks in his recovery, however he is eyeing being back in time for the opening of the VFL season in early April.
In better news, Nathan Jones (hamstring/back), Steven May (hamstring), Jake Melksham (hamstring) and Jack Viney (ankle) are all expected to play some form of football this week with the quartet cleared of their previous injury issues.
