Melbourne Demons join the race for Harley Bennell

The troubled career of Harley Bennell looks likely to continue with Melbourne joining the list of teams prepared to hand the 27-year-old an AFL lifeline.

The Herald Sun is reporting that the Demons will medical test the injury-hit star as soon as tonight.

The Demons are among six teams who have reportedly reached out to Bennell. Geelong have they held talks the former Dockers star while the Swans sourced character references and arranged a meeting between Bennell and their co-captain Josh Kennedy in recent months.

It was reported Bennell met with a Geelong based 'calf guru' to undergo two rounds of surgery to repair an issue involving a muscle pressing on a nerve.

Bennell has been plagued with soft tissue injuries over the past four years and managed to only play two games for the Dockers. He was traded from the Suns to the Dockers after several off-field issues and has only managed 83 games since his debut in 2011.

Bennell is expected to ramp up his training and resume running in the coming weeks to give himself an opportunity of being picked up in the rookie draft or as part of the new pre-season supplementary list.