Written by Megan Taylor, sports reporter covering international sports since 2020
Jack Viney injury concerns have deepened, with the Melbourne Demons veteran still yet to resume running as his AFL return date remains unclear.
The 32-year-old midfielder has been sidelined by achilles and back issues, leaving his 2026 season in doubt while Melbourne sits sixth under new coach Steven King.
The injury update comes after another tough football story, with Nathan Fitzgerald’s death sparking an urgent pitch safety plea from Epping Football Club.
Viney Still Without Timeline
Viney, a dual Melbourne Demons best-and-fairest winner, has not played since round 24 last year.
“There’s no timeline on it,” Viney said on Tuesday at the launch of Melbourne’s kids round.
“It’s really a half hard one to say because I’m not back running yet, and obviously there’s a fair bit of strength and conditioning that’s got to go when I’m back running.
“Once that happens, we’ll get a closer idea of how close I am to returning.”
Viney has played 237 AFL games, but admitted the uncertainty around this recovery has been difficult.
“I’m no stranger to injury, but they’ve been more of your broken bones, or ankle scopes, which once you have it done, it’s a pretty clear and linear recovery back,” the Demons vice-captain said.
“Doing an ACL or ruptured achilles is certainly a challenging injury, but you’ve got 12 months of rehab, whereas my process has been you don’t know how long you’ve got.”
Demons Rise Under King
Melbourne’s climb has helped keep Viney motivated during his rehab.
The Demons missed finals in the past two seasons and sacked premiership coach Simon Goodwin, but they have surged back into the top eight under Steven King.
“We’ve certainly proven a few people wrong.
“We’ve always had full confidence in the talent and the people we had at the football club.
“We’ve still got a long way to go in establishing what our brand of our football is, but to be where we are is a pretty good success at this point of year.”
Melbourne now face Richmond at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday after a strong win over Hawthorn in Launceston.
Official AFL updates are available through the AFL.
