MELBOURNE is being cautious with the recoveries of co-captain Nathan Jones and star forward Jake Melksham as the pair look to overcome hamstring complaints.
Jones, 31, has been in the rehab group since prior to Christmas after injuring his hamstring. The co-skipper has also experienced some referred back pain, leading the Demons to be patient with his recovery.
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Demons elite performance manager Dave Misson said there was no rush to get Jones back in full training with any rush.
"He (Jones) just had some back and hamstring issues before Christmas and over the Christmas period that's been a little bit slow," Misson told melbournefc.com.au.
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"Because he's a bit older and it's the first hamstring he's done we're taking it a little bit slower."
The Demons are treating Melksham's hamstring injury with similar vigilance.
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"He's another one who just had a little hamstring thing before Christmas which has been slow and it's similar to an injury he had during the season last year," Misson said.
"So we're just taking a little bit more time with it."
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In better news, Angus Brayshaw (back), James Harmes (shoulder), Neville Jetta (shoulder), Jayden Hunt (shoulder) and Aaron vandenBerg (shoulder) all joined full training on Monday and will be in full contact from now on.
Midfielder Clayton Oliver is set to rejoin full training once the team arrives back from its pre-season training camp in Maroochydore in early February.
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"'Clarry' had both shoulders [operated on]. He actually joined in a drill on Monday, so he'll be doing more and more with the group over the next couple of weeks," Misson said.
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Billy Stretch (toe), Oscar McDonald (hip), Tim Smith (ankle) and Christian Petracca (knee) are nearing full training.
Forward Mitch Hannan's recovery from double knee surgery is coming along slowly, while Oskar Baker (hamstring) is looking to increase his training on the camp.
"Mitch had a double knee scope so he's going OK. He hasn't started football stuff yet but he's doing a bit of running," Misson said.
"Oskar did a pretty bad hamstring injury towards the end of the VFL season. Because speed is his main weapon we've taken a fair bit of time with him and he's now put together some really good fast running in rehab."
