Sydney Swans big man Darcy Cameron hasn't played at any level in almost a month, but coach John Longmire will consider picking the ruckman to face Carlton on Saturday at the SCG.
Cameron last took the field in the Swans' NEAFL loss to Greater Western Sydney on June 9 but a quad injury has sidelined him since.
However, with fellow rucks Callum Sinclair (shoulder) and Sam Naismith (knee) both unavailable, Longmire might take a risk on Cameron against the Blues.
Aliir Aliir was preferred to mid-season recruit Michael Knoll as Sydney's No.1 ruckman against Essendon and performed well with eight clearances, eight inside 50s, 22 hitouts and 17 possessions, with his athleticism around the ground a constant worry for the Bombers.
But his dash and intercept marking were sorely missed in defence in the Swans' 10-point defeat, and if Cameron can prove his fitness at training this week, Longmire will think long and hard about including him.
The 23-year-old is in his third season at the Swans and has played just one senior game – in the team's shock loss to Gold Coast at the SCG last year – but if he can release Aliir back into defence, the gamble might be worth it.
"We're hoping he can train this week but we're yet to see it, so we'll see how he goes," Longmire said on Monday.
"We were really pleased with how Aliir went (against Essendon), he was fantastic. We understand it's taking away a strength of ours too, though, with his intercept marking.
"We felt his ability to get after it at ground level was very good, so what we do there we'll have to wait and see how the week pans out.
"We want to make sure that when Darcy is right to go into the senior team he's ready to go, because he's missed a bit of footy this year."
The Swans will also have a decision to make on veteran defender Jarrad McVeigh, who is likely to be available for selection this week.
The 34-year-old has played just five games this season because of quad and hamstring injuries.
While he was expected to play for the Swans' NEAFL team last week, the club opted not to send him to Darwin to play NT Thunder on Saturday night.
Longmire indicated that the 324-game former captain would likely play in the NEAFL against Southport at Blacktown on Saturday morning if he's cleared to return this week.
"He was a little bit tight at the back end of last week," he said.
"He was all right to train and trained on Saturday, but we didn't want him to fly and put himself at risk (of further injury), it wasn't worth it.
"We'll sit down and talk with him about what it looks like with him coming back into the team, but we have to mindful that he's missed a lot of footy this year."
Fellow experienced Swan Kieren Jack finished with 30 possessions and five tackles in the Swans' win over the Thunder to press his claims for a senior recall, while midfielder Ryan Clarke had a game-high 36 touches.
The news wasn't as positive for forward Daniel Menzel, who kicked 2.2 from just five disposals.
