Ruck Tristan Xerri is just a week away from returning to the field after recovering from ankle surgery.
Xerri has not featured at any level since he suffered a right ankle syndesmosis injury in the AFL team's Round 1 win over the West Coast Eagles.
North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said Xerri has progressed well.
"Now is the end stage of his rehab, he joins the main group as of this week which is great news for 'X' (Xerri)," White said.
"He'll be in main training this week and look to progress next week to get some minutes in the VFL against Coburg, so that's exciting to have the big fella back."
Having both suffered head knocks in the narrow loss to Essendon, engine room duo Jy Simpkin and Hugh Greenwood have been ruled out of Round 13 against the GWS Giants due to the mandatory 12-day AFL concussion protocols.
"He's (Jy) touched base this morning with medical and is feeling really good," White said.
"Likewise with Hugh Greenwood, he suffered concussion right on half-time and straight away was ruled out of the game by the doc.
"Again, he's presented really well this morning from a headspace point of view."
Fellow midfield star Luke Davies-Uniacke will also miss as he continues to recover from a hamstring strain, but is a chance to feature in next week's clash against the Western Bulldogs.
"He's going into his fourth week post that moderate-grade hamstring strain that he suffered in Hobart," White said.
"With 'LDU' (Davies-Uniacke) he's a little bit slower in turning the corner in terms of increasing his speed and his acceleration.
"We're still feeling a little bit of awareness on that ground ball into his acceleration which is clearly pivotal in the way he plays the game.
"So this week now is about ramping that up, so trying to get to full explosiveness, full repeat effort and power and hit top speed this week, and that would then see him cleared to fully train and be available as of next week."
Despite being a test last week after his foot injury, Curtis Taylor didn't play at any level due to being the carryover AFL emergency, but he will be "cherry ripe" to fully train this week and be available for selection.
