Melbourne will soon welcome Christian Salem back into the fold, with the defender set to return from a hamstring injury next week.
Salem - who injured his hamstring during the Round 5 clash with Brisbane - was close to suiting up on Thursday night to take on Carlton but was held back by the club, who has a nine-day break until their Round 10 clash with West Coast.
The 28-year-old said he needs to get through one more big training session on Saturday, but should be available for selection in a week.
"If all goes well, next week," Salem said onย 3AW.
"I've got a big session on Saturday, which is my final game session that... I've had two weeks of that.
"I was actually pretty close to this week, but obviously the Thursday game made it a bit tough."
The Demons have missed Salem's presence in the back half, lacking composure and efficient ball use at times in the past month.
The left-footer also helps sure up the defensive 50, which could allow Trent Rivers to play further up the ground and in the midfield, while youngsters Judd McVee and Blake Howes have flourished in the opportunity.
Thursday night's game saw star player Christian Petracca swing forward in a last-ditch attempt to create some scoring chances, all of which were to good effect.
Petracca's career-best night yielded five goals and an almost opportunity to steal the victory from Carlton, proving to be a lethal option going forward for Simon Goodwin.
Salem's imminent return would grant Goodwin more freedom to use Petracca up forward, whilst Rivers could be deployed more as a midfielder to assist with the duties alongside Jack Viney, Clayton Oliver and Tom Sparrow.
The Demons are 6-3 after Round 9 and are well within the hunt for a top-four finish.
