Brebner suffered the injury in last week's 0-0 draw with North Queensland in Townsville and while it was initially hoped he would be able to fly to Newcastle to take on the Jets, x-rays revealed he has fractures in two of his toes.

Melbourne will take striker Robbie Kruse to Newcastle providing he gets through a fitness test on Friday after missing the past three games with a calf-strain, while defender Rody Vargas has also been cleared to play.

However, there will be no last-minute bid to rush Kevin Muscat back from his ankle injury despite the fact he has made strong progress over the past nine days.

Muscat is a chance to make his return in the inaugural Melbourne derby at AAMI Park on October 2.