Melbourne could be without Clayton Oliver for a month, according to reports.
The star midfielder injured his hamstring during the third quarter of his side’s narrow loss to Port Adelaide on Friday night.
SEN’s Tom Morris says the Demons will know more later on Monday once the scan results are back for a player who has missed just one game over the past six seasons.
“He could miss a month with his hamstring injury,” Morris said on SEN Breakfast.
“He injured it in the third quarter on Friday night. He’s had no soft tissue injuries in the last six years.
“They don’t think it’s too bad, but it could be up to a month which is a big blow.
“We’ll know the severity later today. The injury news will force Melbourne to reshuffle the decks.”
Morris wondered what Simon Goodwin will do to replace Oliver across the coming weeks.
The obvious replacement would be Luke Dunstan, however, he is currently sidelined wth a knee issue.
“Luke Dunstan has been in great form in the VFL, but he’s been injured as well,” he said.
“They got him in specifically for this role, to be the backup midfielder.
“It will be interesting too see who they replace Clayton Oliver with.”
Nathan Buckley has an idea that could work for the Dees.
He believes they should look at covering for Oliver with multiple players sharing midfield responsibilities, rather than attempting to emulate Oliver’s output with a lesser version.
“I think legs and speed in the midfield is now (important),” Buckley said.
“I wouldn’t try to replace an A-grade Clayton Oliver with a B-grade Clayton Oliver. It’s not going to help you.
“Rotate two, three or four guys through there. Get Kozzie Pickett in there for five or 10 per cent of his game time.
“Introduce some legs into the midfield mix, if in fact they’ve got the ability to do it, but I think that would be what the modern game is asking for.”
Oliver attends the lion’s share of centre bounces for the Demons, most frequently alongside Christian Petracca and Jack Viney with one of the two rucks in Max Gawn or Brodie Grundy.
Thankfully the Demons will regain Tom Sparrow from suspension for this weekend’s clash with Fremantle at the MCG.
James Harmes is another option who could step in while current senior players Angus Brayshaw and Trent Rivers can also go through the middle.
After the Dockers, the fourth-placed Demons have two blockbuster MCG matches against Carlton (Round 12) and Collingwood (Round 13) before the bye.
They resume after the break against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on the Thursday night of Round 15.