Melbourne pair Kysaiah Pickett and Steven May have been placed under an injury cloud after failing to train on Tuesday, but coach Simon Goodwin is confident they'll play against Fremantle.
Pickett was seen leaving the track at Casey Fields after rolling his ankle, and was restricted to limited minutes throughout the session, while May wasn't sighted on the field.
It comes as the Demons have been dealing with a host of injuries to key players, including Jake Lever and Judd McVee, as the poor on-field performances continue to mount up.
However, Goodwin was adamant that Pickett would train on Thursday ahead of the club's Saturday clash with Fremantle at the MCG, while the former Sun deals with plantar fasciitis.
"It's Tuesday, the first session, so he (Pickett) will train fully Thursday and be right to go on the weekend," Goodwin said.
"Steven had an incident in the game with his plantar fasciitis, but in a lot of ways it's a positive incident, because it's a tear that helps the recovery.
"We're hopeful that he'll get up for Thursday and be right to go on the weekend.
"In some ways, an incident that is pretty painful at the time can be a real positive moving forward."
Melbourne's slump to 17th on the ladder has largely been due to their inability to defend the opposition.
Goodwin says the club has improved on its capacity to create scores, but realises his men are not at the level they need to be.
"We're not happy with where we sit," Goodwin said.
"The reality is, we're trying to change a few areas of how we play, and that can be difficult. And sometimes, you fail at doing it.
"But we're committed to going down this path of playing a new way. Right now, we're getting the opportunities, but we're not taking them.
"But what we're doing without the ball, isn't where the level it needs to be. We need to change how we defend. We're far too easy to play against, and when people look at us, the lack of pressure, that's what concerns people, and concerns me as a coach."
