Dees skipper Gawn in clear after knee scare

MELBOURNEs inspirational captain Max Gawn has been cleared of any structural damage to his knee and will be available to make the trip to Perth to tackle West Coast this weekend.

Gawn played only 83 per cent game time against St Kilda on Sunday and spent significant time forward in attack, with coach Simon Goodwin saying post-match that his skipper was “a little bit sore” after copping “a couple of knocks”.

However, Gawn returned to main training on Tuesday after scans on his knee showed no damage.

Key defender Jake Lever will also be available to face the Eagles after pulling up well from the corked thigh that he suffered in the clash with St Kilda.

Fellow defender Christian Salem is closing in on a return to the playing field after having surgery to address chipped cartilage in his knee following round 1.

“Salem is recovering really well from his knee injury,” Melbourne club doctor Laura Lallenec said.

“He’s integrating back into training this week and he’s likely to be only one to two weeks away from playing.”