MELBOURNE'S Jai Culley could still be fit for round one despite fracturing his arm at training on Friday.

Culley has enjoyed a strong pre-season but will now be fighting to be fit for the Demons' opener against St Kilda on March 15.

The 22-year-old will undergo surgery on Saturday and is expected to be sidelined for about four weeks.

"This was a really unfortunate incident, which took place during our training session on Friday," Melbourne general manager of AFL football performance Alan Richardson said.

"Scans have confirmed that this was an arm fracture and Jai will have surgery tomorrow to start recovery as soon as possible.

"We are optimistic that he will be able to maintain his fitness while he is in rehab program.

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"We will have a clearer picture of his return to play timeline post-surgery, however, we expect this to be approximately four weeks."

Culley got his chance at the Demons at the end of 2025, playing the final four games of the season.