If Sam Walsh gets through training this week, he will play this weekend for Carlton, skipper Patrick Cripps has confirmed.
After dominating pre-season training, the star midfielder experienced some back soreness in match simulation and given his history of back surgery, the club took the ultra-conservative route and ruled him out of the first month of the season.
However, Walsh is back in full training and Cripps says he is chomping at the bit to get back out there.
It could happen against Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Saturday evening.
“If he gets through (training) on Thursday, he’ll play,” Cripps told SEN Breakfast.
“He’s jumping around the club yesterday, I’ll tell you that much. He’s up and about.
“It’s been frustrating for him because he won the Gary Ayres Medal for best player in the final series and he felt like he’d really jumped that hurdle and he was absolutely flying in the pre-season and had a little setback.
“He’s been great. He trained last week with the boys. He gave everyone a little touch-up at training.
“It was sort of his game day last week in the last session. He’s going to give us a lot of punch around the ball and break the lines and that runner that can go contest to contest and open the game up.
“To be 4-0 with him missing and also (Jacob) Weitering missing two puts us in a good position. It’s a good time to get rolling because we’ve got a tough challenge against Adelaide this week and then a really good schedule against the best teams.”
Cripps also lauded the performance of vice-captain Jacob Weitering, who has returned from a serious calf injury in the last fortnight.
The key defender hasn’t missed a beat across two games and was arguably best on ground in the club’s win over Fremantle.
“He’s the most important part of our team, I would say,” the Carlton captain said.
“He’s a brick wall back there. I’d say since the middle of last year he’s really taken ownership in his role.
“I think last year he would admit he went from defending his man to team defence and being proactive and I think since then he’s been the best defender in the competition.
“He’s been great over four or five years. I know everyone walks taller when he plays and he was huge again on the weekend.
“What people don’t realise is he was nearly best on ground and he’s just come off a 12-week calf. So his ability to prepare himself and execute what he needs to do is first class.”
The Blues host the Crows this weekend at Marvel Stadium. They will be without forward Lachie Fogarty who received a one-game suspension for a bump on Nathan Fyfe.
Elijah Hollands is also in doubt to play after suffering an adductor injury against the Dockers.
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