THERE is no guarantee Melbourne co-captain Jack Viney will return from a toe injury this year, but the Demons remain "really hopeful" he can have an impact in 2018.

Melbourne sits sixth on the ladder, amid a glut of teams fighting for a finals spot.

Viney has experienced early signs of bone stress in a toe in his right foot, the same injury that forced him to miss the first eight games of the season.

The 24-year-old experienced soreness in an attempt to step up the intensity of his recovery.

"He hasn't had a setback but he's tried to load again and he's a little bit sore, so we're just going to push that back a little bit further before we start reloading him," Dees coach Simon Goodwin told reporters at AAMI Park on Thursday.

Whether Viney returns during the home-and-away season is yet to be seen, with the club to take a wait and see approach.

"There's a few steps to get through. The first is to actually get him reloaded," Goodwin said.

"Whatever that looks like, we're still really hopeful that he still contributes for us at some stage this season, whether that's home and away or later on, who knows?

"We've got a bit of work to do yet."

After the initial plan was for Viney to start running late last week, that date has been pushed back to next week.

Tagger James Harmes warmed up with his teammates and did ball work but then spent time running, away from the main group.

He played in the win against Adelaide, just days after surgery on his right hand.

However, the 22-year-old is expected to face Gold Coast on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.

One who will miss is forward Jake Melksham after he suffered a hamstring strain. It should be a one-week stint on the sidelines.

"It's an injury that he's had before, and he's obviously come back within a week, so we're really hopeful it's just a really minor strain," Goodwin said.

"It happened in the second quarter (against the Crows), he played out the game, so it's something that should recover really quickly."

Melbourne could go tall and bring back Sam Weideman to replace Melksham.

"We've got some options. We've obviously got Dean Kent, Aaron vandenBerg, Jayden Hunt's coming back," Goodwin said.

"Whether we decide to go with a tall in Sam Weideman is another option for us."

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