Dees injury woes deepen with star sent for surgery

Melbourne wasted no time sending star midfielder Clayton Oliver for surgery after their 22-point loss to Brisbane at the MCG on Friday night.

The 2021 premiership player was put under the knife to fix a troublesome finger, that has been dislocated for two weeks.

Oliver played in the loss on Thursday with a glove, still managing to collect 18 disposals at 78 per cent efficiency in the loss.

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The club is not worried however, confident that the minor surgery will see him back on the park as early as next week.

Demons footy boss Alan Richardson explained that the surgery was well overdue.

"Clayton has been managing a finger issue over the past few weeks, and has today undergone a small procedure," Richardson said on Friday.

"The required surgery will alleviate some pain Clayton has been experiencing, which will allow him to play and perform at his best for the rest of the season."

Luckily, Melbourne will have a bye in round six, considering they have played one extra match than other sides who did not feature in the AFL's inagural Gather Round. 

Richardson remains confident that Oliver will miss no football with his injury.

"With the extended break we have before our next match, and with everything going to plan, we expect Clayton not to miss any footy and to be available for our round seven clash against Richmond," he said.

Meantime, it's not good news for fellow middle man Christian Salem, who suffered a hamstring injury that will see him sidelined for up to six weeks.

Salem sustained the injury in the opening moments of the match.

"This is unfortunate for Christian, who is such an important player in our team," Richardson said.

The Dees will have a week off alongside Richmond, before facing the Tigers the following week at the MCG.