Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin said key forward Jesse Hogan's surgery was successful, after finding out he had testicular cancer last week.
The operation took place on Tuesday, and Goodwin said the procedure went a planned.
“It’s a really traumatic thing he’s gone through, but the operation went incredibly well,” Goodwin told media on Thursday morning.
“The main thing is that we get Jesse back to full health and in a really good mindset and welcome him back to the footy club.
“We’ll give him time away [from the club] to recover and heal, and get his mind right. The main thing was that it was the best positive news we could’ve got. The operation went extremely well.”
As the operation was a successful one, Goodwin said Hogan was a chance to return to the line-up within 4-8 weeks.
“It really will come down to Jesse, and when he feels comfortable to get back into training and playing – that’s when he’ll come back to the fold,” he said.
“It really is up to the individual and we’re going to put no pressure on him at all.
“He loves being around the footy club and he loves his footy, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be back quite quickly.”
Goodwin also provided an update on youngster Angus Brayshaw, who suffered another concussion at the weekend.
Brayshaw has battled with head injuries for his entire career at the Demons, with the club now deciding to develop a program to help ease the 21-year-old back into football.
“We’ll meet today (Thursday) to discuss Angus in depth, but we’re really clear that we’re going to tailor a really specific program for Angus,” Goodwin added.
“The great thing about Angus is that he’s recovering well and he’s really positive about playing footy again. We’ll build a program, whether that’s two weeks, three weeks or four weeks – and we’ll take it week-by-week.
