Dustin Martin will play his first game in over a month on Thursday, but Richmond needs to see him “train really strongly” as Tim Taranto also tends to a back issue.
Three weeks after being substituted out of the Tigers’ round-16 loss to Carlton due to back spasms, Martin, 33, was scarcely seen at Punt Road.
The quadruple Norm Smith champion, however, had a strong week of training and was factored in for Saturday’s matchup against North Melbourne, according to Tigers fitness chief Luke Meehan.
The outcome could decide who gets the wooden spoon and the first draft choice when both teams are tied for second place at the bottom of the ladder after two victories each.
“Dustin’s been training pretty hard the last week or so. Again, he needs to train really strongly on Thursday, and we’ll make a call on him then,” Meehan said on Tuesday.
“Tim (Taranto) developed a bit of lower back pain early in the game (against Collingwood). “He’s pretty tough, Tim, and he sort of battled along to halftime. We thought we’d try and get him to see if he could get going again in the third quarter, and he just wasn’t able to. So, we subbed him out.
“He’s pulled up pretty well from the game. At this stage we have to see how he trains on Thursday, so he’s a test.”
It comes as Melbourne and Essendon were both dealt blows in their increasingly desperate bids to play finals.
The Demons have lost Caleb Windsor after the young wingman suffered an ankle syndesmosis injury in the loss to GWS on Saturday night.
Melbourne fitness boss Selwyn Griffith said it was a difficult setback, but the Rising Star contender would not require surgery.
“At the end of the game in that tackle before the final siren, his ankle got caught under him,” Griffith said.
“Initially, we thought that it may have just been a corkie to his shin or his calf. But he presented the next day with some soreness walking and weight bearing, and so we imaged that further which has shown that he’s got a low-grade syndesmosis.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t require surgical intervention at this stage, so, we’ll look to manage that conservatively to give him an opportunity to play at the back end of this year.”
Jordan Ridley’s frustrating home and away season has continued with the Bombers defender ruled out for three weeks with a hip flexor strain.
St Kilda could regain Mattaes Phillipou ahead of schedule from his own hip complaint against Brisbane on Sunday, with the 19-year-old to face a test later this week.
Carlton forward David Cuningham has been ruled out for the rest of the season after he re-injured his shoulder against Port Adelaide on Friday night.
Brisbane on Tuesday confirmed key defender Harris Andrews was set to clear concussion protocols and take his place against the Saints on Sunday.
