Melbourne have been dealt a huge injury blow on the eve of the AFL season, with co-captain Jack Viney and forward Tom McDonald ruled out for up to two months.
Viney has been struggling with the ongoing effects of a plantar fascia injury in his right foot suffered in round 15 last season.
The 23-year-old had surgery and missed just two games but has since dealt with complications including a stress fracture in the same foot and ankle and toe niggles.
Both he and McDonald, who has a toe injury, will be managed in a bid to get them right for the second half of the season.
"They both had cortisone (injections) during the week," coach Simon Goodwin told reporters on Thursday.
"They'll have a couple of weeks off legs and we're not expecting them to be right for probably six to eight weeks in terms of rebuilding them up.
"Both those players will be out but we're trying to set them up as best we can to have impact when they come in and play for us."
Viney's latest setback is a major worry for the Demons considering it will have been almost a year since the initial injury by the time he is scheduled to return to senior football.
Goodwin remained optimistic about Viney's long-term prospects.
"It's different to what he's had previously. It's not a major problem but we want to make sure they're both 100 per cent right when they come back and they've done the right training," he said.
In better news for the Demons, reigning best and fairest Clayton Oliver has been cleared to face Geelong on Sunday at the MCG.
The 20-year-old had an interrupted pre-season because of a knee issue but proved his fitness at training on Thursday.
"He's just had an extended warm-up so he'll play," Goodwin said.
"We've got a lot of players available - we've got 40 I think - and Clayton will be out there on Sunday."
Draftee Bayley Fritsch will make his AFL debut with Goodwin describing the Casey Demons product as a versatile forward line addition.
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