Melbourne have denied claims Heritier Lumumba is considering legal action against the club as he weighs up his AFL future.
Lumumba looks certain to have played his final game for Melbourne and is likely to retire amid a dispute over the Demons' handling of his concussion.
The 2010 All-Australian defender claims Melbourne stopped him playing this season when he felt he had recovered from his concussion problems.
Lumumba, who has just finished the second year of a three-year deal with Melbourne, concussed himself in round six and went on to suffer another knock to the head in his comeback game several weeks later in the VFL.
The 30-year-old claims his lack of opportunities this season - playing just five games in total - meant he could not use a trigger clause in his contract for a fourth year.
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But Melbourne on Thursday were confident Lumumba would not pursue legal action.
"Heritier and the club are currently investigating issues associated with Heritier's health, to determine his ongoing playing future with the club," Demons football manager Josh Mahoney said.
"Contrary to media reports, Heritier has not threatened legal action against the club.
"We ask media to refrain from further speculation on Heritier's health while he seeks the necessary information to make an informed decision on his playing career."
Lumumba, a premiership player with Collingwood in 2010, has sought further medical advice and has been in contact with the AFL Players' Association as he considers his next move.
The Demons are adamant they had handled the situation appropriately, and defender Bernie Vince on Thursday questioned whether Lumumba would have earned another game even if he had been cleared to play.
"It's real messy - how do you prove that he didn't play because of his head or he wasn't selected?" Vince told Nova 100 radio.
"The doctors take a more precautionary side of things with head knocks and they leave you out for an extra week or an extra couple of weeks just to be careful, so for him to say they didn't treat it right was a bit disappointing.
"We think that we've got the best medicos in the comp. They're very cautious on that issue.
"I don't know the full ins and outs and I'm not sure if he's retiring or not. It looks like he is."
Demons coach Simon Goodwin earlier this month said Lumumba had been cleared of his symptoms and was poised to return to training.
One of the AFL's most-enigmatic characters, Lumumba has played 223 senior games - 199 for the Magpies and 24 at Melbourne.
AFL chief Gillon McLachlan on Thursday said he was comfortable with existing concussion protocols, adding that the league was investing "significant money" in concussion research.
