Melbourne Demons star Clayton Oliver returns home from training camp

With Melbourne in the dark over Clayton Oliver’s return after he left the club’s training camp early, teammate Christian Salem has responded to questions about the superstar midfielder.

Demons training. Clayton Oliver. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Melbourne is in the dark over when Clayton Oliver will return to football after he left a pre-Christmas training camp early.

The troubled midfielder didn’t even last a day at the camp in Lorne before returning home on Monday night. He had also missed a training session on Saturday.

Oliver’s ongoing health issues have been a cause of great concern for Demons officials this year with the 26-year-old battling to adhere to the club’s standards on and off the field.

Premiership teammate Christian Salem said Oliver was going through a “very tough time”.

“It is a very tough time dealing with the medical challenges that he’s dealing with,” Salem said.

“We support him not only as teammates but as people as well. It’s tough seeing someone we are so close with go through something like that.

“We want to support him and be there for him.”

Clayton Oliver at Demon’s training. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Salem said the club had the right support network around the four-time best and fairest winner to get him back to football at some stage next year.

“We are just thankful that he has a great support network with him,” Salem said. “The club are doing so much to be able to help him through it because it is challenging, not everyone on the outside knows exactly what is going on with him so there is a lot of speculation and you could imagine how he is feeling.

“But we will support him and try and help him get back on track.”

Melbourne football manager Alan Richardson said the decision was made quickly after Oliver’s arrival on Monday that he would be better suited not taking part in the four-day camp.

“Clayton is taking a break as he continues to deal with some issues. We are continuing to support Clayton and managing his program in a way that prioritises his health and wellbeing,” Richardson said.

“His teammates and staff remain confident he is making good progress.”

On Friday it was revealed the premiership hero will face court next year after being caught driving without a licence.

Oliver had been banned from driving for medical reasons after he was hospitalised in October following a seizure.

But he ignored doctors orders, continuing to be behind the wheel before he was busted by police.

Last week Melbourne CEO Gary Pert said Oliver was “in a great headspace” despite his troubled year.

He had returned early to training but had been limited after having a minor knee procedure. However, he regressed in recent days which saw him sent home from the training camp.

Clayton Oliver suffered a seizure in October while at teammate Joel Smith’s (right) house. Picture: Michael Klein

“He wants to be part of something really special,” Pert said about Oliver at Melbourne’s annual members footy forum.

Oliver suffered the seizure when he was at teammate Joel Smith’s house. Smith is currently provisionally suspended after testing positive to cocaine in a sample taken after the Demons win over Hawthorn in Rd 23.

“There’ve been some quite high-profile player incidents in the off-season,” Pert said.

“I want to reassure all Melbourne members and supporters … the culture of the Melbourne FC is very strong and very resilient, and it starts with these guys here (the club’s leadership). It’s a very strong and aligned culture.

“A strong culture is about calling out when individuals aren’t in alignment with the culture, about holding people accountable.

“We will have challenges of people not being in alignment … (but) we’ll continue to drive our cultural programs through our leaders.

“I think it is a competitive edge of ours (the culture) and it’s being driven by the best group of leaders I’ve seen.

“All individuals within our high-performance program will continue to get the expert support they need for their personal needs.

“The club is absolutely there to support those individuals.”