CARLTON prospect Tom De Koning is poised to make his return this weekend through the VFL.

The second-year Blue missed the first two months of 2019 after sustaining a lateral ligament injury in a Northern Blues practice match in March.

Director of High Performance Andrew Russell was pleased to report that the promising youngster is prepared to make his return.

“Tom De Koning has been on the sidelines for a long time, but we’ll see him out there this week playing which is really exciting for the group and exciting for him,” Russell said. 

“He’s moving well, he’s had a really good conditioning block and it will be great to him out there playing.”

With positive progression to report, Blues fans will still have to wait a little longer to see stoic defender Liam Jones run out again.

The dependable Blue has missed the last four rounds after a collision during Carlton’s clash with North Melbourne left him with a concussion.

With concussion symptoms persisting, Russell was hesitant to provide a timeframe for the defender’s return.

“Liam Jones we still can’t commit to a timeline for his return to play,” he said.

“But a positive sign is that he is back training, he is feeling a lot better and we’ll continue to monitor him really closely.”