Melbourne defender Sam Frost will miss the openign round of the home and away season due to a foot injury.

Frost, who did not play in the JLT Community Series, will instead play for Casey, as the club looks to ease him back into competitive football.

โ€œSamโ€™s doing some really good training. Heโ€™ll join in with the main group on Friday,โ€ Melbourne elite performance manager Dave Misson said.

โ€œHe wonโ€™t play this Sunday [for Casey in a practice match], but heโ€™ll play in the Casey practice game on the same day as our round one, so heโ€™s going really well.โ€

Meanwhile, Michael Hibberd (Achilles), Jeff Garlett (hamstring), Dean Kent (knee) and Joel Smith (toe) all remain a chance to play in round one, despite their respective injuries.

โ€œTheyโ€™re all in the same boat and theyโ€™ll do a training session on Friday and look to play for Casey on Sunday,โ€ Misson said.

The Demons take on St Kilda at Etihad Stadium in round one.