North Melbourne onballer George Wardlaw will be available for Saturday’s clash with Sydney at the SCG, while Luke Davies-Uniacke must prove his fitness to join the team on the trip north.
Both players have been in concussion protocols after suffering head knocks in recent weeks.
Given his concussion history, Wardlaw was given an extra week to recover and gradually build back into full-contact training after being sidelined in the Round 16 clash with Hawthorn.
Davies-Uniacke's blow came in the Round 17 bout with the Western Bulldogs, causing him to miss last Sunday's game against Melbourne.
"George has had a conservative program across the past two weeks, increasing his exposure to high-intensity footy training as well as grading to full-contact training," North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said.
"He will train Tuesday night with the VFL program then again on Thursday with the main group to declare his availability."
Davies-Uniacke is progressing well through the AFL-mandated protocols and will tick off his final provision on Tuesday night when he also trains with the VFL group.
He'll then look to head into full contact training on Thursday and prove his fitness ahead of selection.
Sharpshooter Nick Larkey's availability is in doubt as he continues to battle the knee knock he sustained against the Dogs.
Scans last week revealed a low-grade PCL injury and Larkey will be an ongoing test until his knee soreness decreases, White said.
"[The injury] is restricting our ability to get him into full range and into running at higher levels," White said.
Veteran defender Luke McDonald is a chance of rejoining the squad for its trip to the Harbour city after missing the past two games with an AC joint injury.
"Luke has done a remarkable job over the past fortnight in pushing through training to put his hand up for selection," White said.
"He is struggling with high-end strength and function, which is the sticking point we’re looking to overcome in his program going into this week’s game. He'll face a test on Thursday.”
Aidan Corr (calf) remains 2-3 weeks away from a return, while fellow backman Jackson Archer underwent surgery on his fibula last week and is currently in recovery mode.
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