Melbourne GM of Football Operations Josh Mahoney says Jake Lever is progressing well in recovering from an ACL injury.
Lever ruptured his ACL for the second time in Round 11 against the Bulldogs last season.
Mahoney says the defender is showing positive signs in his recovery.
“We’re not putting any time pressure on him,” he told KB and the Doc.
“He’s really tracking along well at the moment so he’s somewhere in between (returning in) Round 7 or 8 to Round 10-12 so it’s in that range, depending on how it goes from here on.
But the Melbourne footy manager says that Gold Coast recruit Steven May is up for the challenge to fill the hole in defence.
“He was brought to the club to play that role and unfortunately he won’t be out there Round 1,” Mahoney said.
“But he’s already really focused on Round 2 and possibly a match-up with Tom Hawkins.”
The Demons open their season against the Power at the MCG on Saturday.