Neville Jetta’s AFL season is over with the veteran Melbourne defender requiring further knee surgery.

Continuing a horror year on the injury front for the Demons, Jetta missed 11 matches mid-season but returned for the past three only for the knee to flare up again.

One of four changes to Melbourne for Saturday night’s MCG clash with Richmond, he joins Tom McDonald, Sam Weideman, Jeff Garlett and Kade Kolodajshnij in the long-term casualty ward.

Jake Melksham will play his first match since round eight, while Jay Kennedy-Harris, Kyle Dunkley and Braydon Preuss have all been included to face the Tigers.

Steven May remains sidelined with a hamstring injury although is pencilled in to return next week against Collingwood.

Demons coach Simon Goodwin said on Friday that Jetta was battling with swelling in his knee.

“He’s obviously come back after a long knee rehab and he’s still getting some continual swelling in that knee, so we’ll go in and get that tidied up,” Goodwin said.

“It’s something that’s been an issue for him the whole year, so we just want to make sure he’s 100 per cent right to go and we feel it’s a bit unfair putting him out there with a swollen knee.”

Goodwin said that injury concerns aside, his team’s attack needed to improve with their loss to St Kilda last round their eighth in the last 10.

Melbourne are second-last with the Tigers top four and Goodwin doesn’t want his team to waste the final four weeks of the season.

“Our method in our offence needs to improve which is part system but also our execution and we’re well aware of that as a group,” Goodwin said.

“We think we’re going to implement a few things on the weekend that we think will challenge that and hopefully make it better it, refine it.

“That’s one of our challenges – not to waste time, not to waste the next four weeks.”