Melbourne recruit Ben Brown is set to meet a specialist today as he deals with persistent swelling in his left knee.
The forward missed the back half of last season with North Melbourne because of knee issues which have seemingly returned during his first pre-season with the Demons.
Brown, 28, performed well in an intra-club match recently but will now undergo precautionary scans in an attempt to resolve the problem just six weeks out from the new season.
Dees great Garry Lyon and SEN Breakfast co-host Tim Watson discussed just how much trouble this may be for the 287-goal forward and his second club.
“It’s not ideal, I think is the best way to put it,” Lyon said.
“It’s not ideal if you read between the lines. There’s no pain but a lot of swelling.
“So there’s something structurally wrong and he wasn’t able to get through last year with a similar problem.
“That’s not the sort of news that Melbourne fans would be wanting.”
Watson believes the fact that Brown’s 2020 was cut short by the problem, which is again rearing its ugly head, is concerning.
“That’s always the problem when you see somebody’s season end prematurely as it did last year,” Watson added.
“Then you think that they are going away and they are going to try and have it fixed.
“They think they’ve had it fixed and then it resurfaces, that’s always a major concern.”
Melbourne’s General Manager of AFL Football Performance, Alan Richardson, had earlier told Melbourne Media on Monday:
“Following scans on Monday afternoon, it has been decided that we will get the opinion of knee specialist Julian Feller to determine the best course of action.
“The club will be in a position to provide further information following Ben’s consultation on Wednesday.”
Brown, who has been hampered by the ongoing issue since December, underwent minor surgery in September after injuring the knee a month prior.
The Demons open their 2021 season against Fremantle at the MCG on March 20.