MELBOURNE recruit Chris Dawes is a chance to play against St Kilda in round 13 after scans on Tuesday showed he had a mild high ankle sprain.
Dawes was subbed off at half-time of Monday's game against his former club Collingwood after suffering the injury.
There were concerns the injury might cause him to miss a significant period of football but football manager Josh Mahoney told melbournefc.com.au the news was positive.
"Chris will wear a boot for the next week and train early next week," Mahoney said.
"He is still a chance to play against St Kilda in our next game, if things settle as expected."
Dawes missed the first six games of the year after suffering a hamstring injury during the pre-season.
He had been one of the team's better performers against Hawthorn in round 10, kicking two goals and showing aggression.
He has also been a strong leader on and off the field in his first year at Melbourne.
News on the progress of the club's other key forward Mitch Clark – who has missed since round four with a foot injury – is expected on Wednesday.
Coach Mark Neeld indicated after Monday's game that he would be happy if Clark returned in time to play one game for the rest of 2013.
"The way that it gets explained, the boys say it's a very unique injury," Neeld said on Monday night.
"The ligament is going well but they had to take the screw out early because it shifted ... if Mitch plays another game for the year I'll be really pleased. It's that unknown."
