Melbourne young gun Lily Mithen will not play for at least another week as she continues her recovery from a syndesmosis injury as a key Pie remains yet to play this season with ongoing concussion issues.

It had been feared that the Demons may have to call on a train-on player for Friday night’s bushfire relief clash with Collingwood at Marvel Stadium, but the playing list remains just intact with a chance that tall Lauren Pearce could play for the first time this season after a knee complaint.

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media_camera Former Adelaide forward Sarah Perkins is training with Melbourne. Picture: AFL Media/Getty Images

The Demons now have 23 available players, plus Pearce if she gets through training tonight.

Clubs can only call on train-on players – with Adelaide premiership player Sarah Perkins currently training with Melbourne – once they have less than 23 players available.

Mithen, 21, had surgery on the eve of the season after injuring her ankle in a practice match.

“Lily trained on Tuesday night, and while she completed the whole session, she wasn’t feeling completely comfortable,” Demons women’s football manager Daniel McPherson said.

“So we’ve erred on the side of caution with her – she’ll definitely play next week.”

media_camera Lily Mithen is still not ready to take the field for the Demons. Picture: AAP

Former Collingwood vice-captain Emma Grant remains under monitoring by the club as she continues to battle symptoms from a pre-season concussion.

She is now the only Magpie on the injury list, with the club saying yesterday that “she will be tested on the track throughout the remainder of the week”.

The Pies remain hopeful she could play again this season and are not yet considering placing her on the inactive player list.

media_camera Ex-Collingwood captain Emma Grant is suffering worrying concussion symptoms. Picture: AAP

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Grant, 30, took to Instagram three weeks ago to describe the concussion she copped in the pre-season game as “unlike any other I have had”.

“This is a different beast,” she wrote.

“I think it’s really important to talk about – it’s not a broken leg, I don’t have a scar for you all to see.

“On the outside I look like a normal person, but on the inside it’s like living in a thick fog. It’s scary.”

She described her main symptoms at the beginning of the month as “headaches, irritability, difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances and sensitivity to light and noise”.

“I just want to be my old self again,” she wrote.

Demon Maddy Guerin – who ruptured her ACL in last Friday night’s loss to St Kilda – will have surgery next week.

Guerin was the fourth Demon to be felled with the serious injury since just before Christmas, with Ainslie Kemp having gone down on the Friday night prior.

Kemp, who has previously returned from an ACL injury without surgery, is undertaking rehabilitation on her medial cruciate ligament before any surgery.

media_camera Maddy Guerin will have knee surgery next week. Picture: AFL Media/Getty Images

Originally published as Tex on standby as Dee injury crisis deepens