UPDATE
Melbourne has confirmed the new injury to Christian Petracca.
The Demons released a statement just after midday on Saturday afternoon, stating that while Petracca has a hairline fracture in his fibula, it's not an injury expected to sideline the 26-year-old.
“The advice from our medical team is that a fracture of this nature will not rule Christian out of selection for our semi final,” Melbourne GM of football Alan Richardson said.
“The fracture poses no further risk to Christian and will not impact his ability to play.
“What will pose more of a challenge for Christian is the corky he sustained to his calf in a collision that occurred in the first quarter and hampered his movement for the majority of the match against Sydney.
“Obviously Christian will need to tick some boxes throughout training this week but we are confident that he will be ready to go come Friday.”
EARLIER
Christian Petracca has suffered a hairline fracture of his fibula, but Melbourne is understood to be resolute on playing its star midfielder against Brisbane next week.
Petracca suffered a calf injury in Friday night’s 22-point loss to the Swans, but further scans have revealed the secondary setback, according to SEN’s Sam Edmund.
“It’s big news for Melbourne, those secondary scans for Christian Pettraca have revealed a hairline fracture of the fibula,” Edmund said on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“But they’re prepared to play him with that fracture, the bigger concern at the moment is the cork or contusion Simon Goodwin talked about.
“So he will play with a hairline fracture of the fibula – anyone who has had one of those knows it will just correct itself over time – that is not the most pressing concern, it’s the corky he suffered in that awkward collision with Lance Franklin that he played on under some duress with.
“So he’s touch and go, but they’re pretty optimistic he’ll play.”
Petracca gathered 24 touches (14 contested) and four clearances in Friday night’s loss.
Melbourne plays Brisbane next week in a do-or-die Semi Final.