Melbourne coach Steven King has confirmed that Kysaiah Pickett will play on Sunday despite being on personal leave.
Pickett headed to Darwin to deal with a personal matter, but King said the star Demon will be back ahead of Thursday's training session.
"We were pretty proactive with it, Kozzy needed to get back for family reasons and I fully support any father at our club to make sure they get to support their family," King said.
"Kozzy will be back tomorrow, he'll do our T2 (main training session two) and play.
"That's something I want to provide flexibility for our staff and players that family is equally or more important than just the game of footy.
"We'll give Kozzy all the time he needs to take care of his family and his daughter and he'll be fine. We'll work that with him throughout the season as it progresses but he'll play."
Pickett flew to Darwin on Tuesday following he and his partner splitting up. The couple has a daughter together.
The livewire has completed remote sessions and is expected to return by Friday's main training and be available on Sunday.
Demons legend Garry Lyon revealed the club's statement.
"Kozzie Pickett has flown back to Darwin yesterday," Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.
"He has some family issues, separation from his partner, they've also got a little girl.
"The family dynamic is super important. He's gone back to Darwin and won't be at training today, and he's missed a couple of big sessions.
"I'm told that Kozzie is very supportive of his partner's move back to Darwin and it's important for her to be around family at this time.
"The club is supporting Kozzie to ensure he can still be connected to the family while still getting the job done from a footy club point of view.
"I understand that the footy club has spoken to him and understand the difficult situation he's found himself in and they're going to be pretty flexible for him to try and stay connected with his daughter.
"This a sensitive issue. I'm just telling you what's going on. I can't interpret this.
"He went to Darwin on Tuesday with the club's blessing. The expectation is that he'll return on Thursday. He's missed a couple of sessions (wth the group) but he's done those sessions remotely.
"The great hope is that he'll be back with the group for Friday's main training session.
"These are difficult times when there's families and partnerships and breakups. But that's why Kozzie won't be at training (today)."
Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Hanger 2026 AFL Season Guide! Packed with 150+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 AFL Season Guide is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.
