Melbourne small forward Jeff Garlett has avoided surgery on his dislocated shoulder and is set for a short spell on the sidelines.
Garlett injured the shoulder in a marking contest in the third quarter of the Demons' JLT Community Series match against Richmond on Sunday.
Elite Performance Manager David Misson told Melbourne Media that the assessment of the shoulder was positive.
โHe consulted with a surgeon yesterday who advised that we donโt go down the surgical option, which is sort of what we thought after the injury anyway,โ Mission said.
โIt (the dislocated shoulder) came back in pretty easily so now itโs a matter of strengthening up that joint and making sure he can function properly.
โHeโs probably going to be four to six weeks.โ
However, Misson explained that despite avoiding damage to his previously repaired shoulder, there is no certainty that Garlett will not require surgery on his โgoodโ shoulder.
โThis is his good shoulder โ heโs had an operation on the other side, but not on this shoulder,โ he said.
โI wouldnโt say heโs 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.โ
Garlett joins Mitch Hannan (knee, 8-12 weeks), Kade Kolodjashnij (knee, 8-12 weeks), Jake Lever (knee, 12-16 weeks) and Aaron Nietshke (knee, season) on Melbourneโs injury list.
