Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin has guaranteed star midfielders Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver will be at the Demons next year, but both are now sidelined for the rest of the season.
Oliver has joined Petracca on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on his hand on Monday.
The 27-year-old has also been dealing with a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury and sore ribs and will sit out Melbourne’s final two games of the season against Gold Coast and Collingwood.
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News of his injuries ends a difficult campaign for Oliver, who was the subject of trade speculation last season as Melbourne became concerned over his professionalism.
But Goodwin said he was proud of how far Oliver had come in dealing with his off-field issues and was looking forward to what the four-time Melbourne best-and-fairest could achieve after a full pre-season.
“Clayton’s a great story in a lot of ways for our club in terms of the challenge that he’s gone through and where he’s got to as a person throughout this year,” Goodwin said on Wednesday.
“Now for Clayton, it’s about getting him really healthy, from a football perspective, and getting him back playing to a really top-end footy — and I’ve never seen someone that’s more determined to do that.
“He’ll be a part of our footy club for a long time now.”
Oliver’s season-ending injuries come just a day after Melbourne responded to a report surrounding Petracca’s frustrations with the direction of the club.
Petracca suffered a lacerated spleen, punctured lung and four broken ribs when crunched by an accidental knee from Collingwood captain Darcy Moore during the King’s Birthday match in June.
Reports suggested the 2021 Norm Smith medallist would have asked for a trade if not for his long-term contract due to feeling “disillusioned” at Melbourne.
Petracca returned to support the Dees on Saturday night for the first time since he was taken away from the MCG in an ambulance, watching as Melbourne’s finals hopes were extinguished in a defeat to Port Adelaide.
The 28-year-old joined Demons teammates in light training drills at Casey Fields on Wednesday.
“Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca will be at the footy club next year,” Goodwin told reporters.
“I can guarantee you they will be running around in red and blue jumpers.
“They’re much loved players for our footy club.
“Christian’s had an incredibly traumatic experience and we don’t need to underestimate it.
“He had to go away from the game and get happy and healthy again.
“I’m sure he’s got some wonderful ideas about how we can get better and we’ll lean into those suggestions.”
One player who won’t be at Melbourne next year is experienced utility Alex Neal-Bullen, who has requested a trade home to South Australia for family reasons.
The 2021 premiership player has played 174 games for the Demons since debuting in 2015.
“Alex came to me four weeks ago to talk about where he was at with his family; it’s a private matter with his situation,” Goodwin said.
“We’re very open to helping Alex in getting that request done.
“He said to me and the playing group, if he could pick the Melbourne footy club up and place it in Adelaide he would be playing in the red and blue still.
“It is hard to replace a person like Alex Neal-Bullen but we’ve got some wonderful people coming up in our younger brigade.”
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