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Demons set to assess hampered star Christian Petracca, Swans play down Oli Florent injury

“He’s pretty sore.”

Published by
Mitch Keating

Melbourne senior coach Simon Goodwin is confident midfielder Christian Petracca will be fit for next week's semi-final clash against Brisbane after the Demons star suffered a knock to his lower leg in Friday night's loss to the Swans.

Petracca was visibly hampered for a majority of the 21-point loss, an ailment that limited the Norm Smith Medal winner's minutes in midfield.

An incident early into the game involving Petracca and Swans star Lance Franklin saw the former needing assistance off the field in the aftermath, before eventually returning to the ground, albeit limping.

Goodwin revealed the club will monitor Petracca in the coming days, confident their contested bull will be available to face the Lions in a must-win final next week.

"He got a pretty significant kick from 'Buddy' just below the knee in the calf," Goodwin said post-game.

"It's just got a contusion that we'll assess through the week but he's pretty sore.

"Clearly it limited his movement for the majority of the night and had a bit of an impact on his game, but he'll get that right and reset and hopefully be all clear and ready to go next week."

The Demons will now look to consider what changes may need to be made to bounce back from Friday night's loss, while one forced change could be made after James Harmes was placed on report for a bump on Swans defender Jake Lloyd.

Melbourne may look toward swingman Tom McDonald for their semi-final, with Goodwin and co needing to further assess the returning Demon's fitness in the days leading to week two of the post-season.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 15: Tom McDonald of the Demons handballs during a Melbourne Demons AFL training session at Gosch's Paddock on May 15, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

McDonald made his return from a Lisfranc foot injury through the VFL with Casey last weekend, getting through the match unscathed.

"[Casey] have a big session tomorrow," Goodwin said on monitoring McDonald. "So we'll assess that throughout the week.

"But that's something we're not thinking about right at the moment. We'll just get through this week's game and then assess him during the week."

Melbourne weren't the only side to face injury concerns in the match, with flanker Ollie Forent suffering a foot injury in the final minutes of his side's emotional win.

The Sydney utility was assisted off the MCG with what looked to be a significant injury, however Swans coach John Longmire played down the chance of the hindrance keeping Florent sidelined.

"He sprained his foot but he's okay," Longmire revealed.

"I think he just stood in a hole out there he said. He said he's fine and could've come back out if we needed, but he's just gonna ice up."

The Swans have earnt a break ahead of their preliminary final, now just one win away from a grand final berth.

Published by
Mitch Keating