There’s a fresh pulse in Melbourne veteran Jack Viney’s season.

Viney participated in the Demons’ training on Wednesday morning at Casey Fields, showing signs of progress in his return from a debilitating back injury.

It was only last week Melbourne coach Steven King said the club was “getting close to “ ruling Viney out for the year.

But the hard-nosed Demon took what King aptly described as “steps forward” this week.

“Sometimes when you increase load your body either shuts down or responds well, and he’s taken a couple of steps forward now,” King said.

“Maybe he’s through that barrier where he can string a couple of sessions together and go from there.

“I don’t want to put any timeline on it because he could get three-quarters of the session today and pull up a bit lame.

“You never close the door on any player. Likewise, I try not to talk about players that are injured because there’s not much I can do about it.

“We just work with the players that are available, make sure you get the best out of them, and it’s a nice little treat when you get some depth back in your list.

“I think at the moment, we’ve had some players who have been out for a long time starting to return and it gives you a bit more depth.

Viney will be in the stands for Melbourne’s Friday night blockbuster against Geelong with improved defender Daniel Turner.

Turner was ruled out for four weeks after sustaining a rib injury during last round’s win over North Melbourne and being sent to the hospital.

King said Turner was difficult to replace but was confident the Demons had “options”.

“It’s going to be a big loss because I think he’s one of the best key defenders in the game,” King said.

“We’ve got options, we’ve got main training today, there’s a few there.

“Tommy McDonald, Lucas Cook is back from injury, Xavier Taylor, there’s a few options, (Harrison) Petty is available this week.

“He could easily swing down back as well for us. We’ll get through training today and sit down as a match committee and work out what works best against Geelong’s forwards.”

Christian Salem is edging towards a return, while Changkuoth Jiath is also in the frame to play despite hobbling from the field last week.

Originally published as AFL 2026: Melbourne veteran Jack Viney takes ‘steps forward’ to return from injury