Young Melbourne forward Ricky Mentha will be treated cautiously for the pre-season leading up to the Christmas break after he was seen clutching his quad at training on Monday.
The Demons descended onto Gosch's Paddock for the second week of the pre-season, with first-to-fourth-year players getting free rein.
Throughout a range of drills testing the players' contested ability, running patterns and ball movement, new coach Steven King is leaving no stone unturned.
However, Mentha pulled up proppy toward the end of the session, and was seen in the hands of trainers.
The young Demon attempted to perform run-throughs to assess the damage, but was seen leaving the training track earlier than teammates.
Small forward Jack Henderson was also pulled from the main training drills after a minor grab at his lower back. He quickly put the runners on and cruised around the oval.
ACL victim Andy Moniz-Wakefield continued building up his aerobic strength, as he was seen running laps and doing speedwork for the majority of the session.
Elsewhere, premiership stars Bayley Fritsch, Tom McDonald and Christian Salem led the older contingent, returning to the club ahead of the official pre-season start date on November 24.
The Demons are expected to embark on a pre-season training camp in Bright from Monday for a week, taking the entire club, which has seen a massive overhaul of players and staff.
King is hopeful the time spent together in the rural Victorian town will help bond the four new recruits, as well as the draftees set to be picked on Wednesday in the AFL Draft.
The new Melbourne coach also heads a host of staff who have come into the club in preparation for the 2026 season.
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