Melbourne forward Troy Thompson faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after injuring his knee in last Sunday's 38-0 thrashing of NRL rivals Parramatta.

Thompson strained a ligament at AAMI Park, adding to the Storm's injury woes up front with Sika Manu also sidelined.

Coach Craig Bellamy promoted Jesse Bromwich to his starting line-up on Tuesday, while former South Sydney forward Jaiman Lowe was named on a five-man bench for Sunday's clash with Penrith at Centrebet Stadium.

Bellamy said Lowe would see plenty of action in his first top grade match since the round three drubbing at the hands of North Queensland.

"Troy's likely to miss a month or six weeks and that's not ideal, especially with Sika out about the same amount of time," Bellamy said on Wednesday.

"Jaiman Lowe will get a chance this week and I'm sure he'll do a good job for us."

Melbourne are top of the NRL ladder with four wins from their five matches, while the Panthers have been up and down this season with two victories.

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