Midfielder Tom Powell will look to return from a groin complaint for North Melbourne’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round clash with Kuwarna (Adelaide) on Saturday.
Powell missed his first AFL game since Round 22, 2023 after pulling up sore following a tackle late in Round 8's match against Geelong.
He will face a fitness test later this week.
"(The incident) had caused aggravation where Tom’s kicking and acceleration last week was limited, and a decision to take a conservative approach was taken to let that settle,” North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said.
“He’ll train Thursday to assess his function and ability before putting his hand up to play this weekend.”
Small forward Zac Banch faces a month on the sidelines after suffering a moderate hamstring strain during the third quarter of Saturday’s VFL game against Sydney.
“He has pulled up quite well and produced a decent running session to reload again today (Tuesday)," White said.
“We anticipate a return to play just after the AFL bye round.”
Defender Josh Goater (calf) will miss another weekend of action, while winger/forward Zac Fisher has turned the corner in his hamstring recovery.
“Josh reported calf tightness in training last week which presented as overload on scan,” White said.
“As a precaution with his history, he didn’t play last week and will build through this week with football and conditioning to best set him up to return to play next week.
“Zac has been progressing through his rehab stages well over the past week and dropped into main group training today.
“He’ll complete a high-loading football conditioning session Saturday where he will look to tick off high speed and acceleration markers to then set up for a normal week of training before playing next week."
Robert Hansen jnr (groin) is training at a high level and is one week from a potential return to play, while River Stevens (knee) is expected to get his first reload run under his belt this weekend.
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