THE Blues face a wait on captain Marc Murphy’s availability for selection ahead of this weekend’s clash with Geelong on Saturday night.

Murphy came off late in the first quarter against Melbourne on Sunday afternoon with a foot injury but returned to the field and finished out the game. 

Head of Football Andrew McKay said the Club would know more in the coming days once Murphy’s foot niggle had settled. 

“Marc disrupted some scar tissue in his foot on the weekend. He spent some time on the bench, but played out the rest of the game. We’re just going to see how he pulls up over the next couple of days with that foot before deciding on his prognosis,” McKay said.

Exciting forward Charlie Curnow is likely to be recalled to the side to face the Cats after overcoming a tight quadricep suffered during training last week.

“Unfortunately Charlie was a late withdrawal after training on Thursday because he pulled up sore with a tight quad. We didn’t want to risk him, so we thought it best for him not to play,” he said.

“We’re confident he’ll play this week but we’ll just need to test him at the end of the week.” 

Young defender Caleb Marchbank continues his recovery from an ankle injury, but will be delayed in his return to the field after suffering extended bone bruising. 

“He’s had that ankle niggle for the past few weeks, and there’s some bone bruising on that ankle. He won’t be ready for this week. We’re hopeful for next week although there’s no promises because we have the bye after that, so he may well return after but we’re hopeful its next week,” McKay said.

Dynamic midfielder Matthew Kennedy will eye a return to play after the bye round too, having suffered a setback with a similar ankle injury last week.

“Matt missed last week with bone bruising on the ankle. He won’t be ready for this week, and is unlikely for next too so he’s looking more likely to come back after the bye.”

Meanwhile, youngsters Tom De Koning and Harrison Macreadie are set to face fitness testing at the back end of the week, after missing the Northern Blues’ clash against Box Hill with calf and hamstring injuries respectively.

“Tom missed the VFL game last week with calf soreness but he’s progressing well this week off the back of that and will be a test at the end of the week,” McKay said. 

“Harrison has been out with a hamstring strain for the past three weeks and he’ll be a test at the end of the week. We’re hopeful he’ll be playing VFL this weekend.” 

After suffering a fractured rib in Round 7, key forward Levi Casboult looks likely to return to full fitness following the Blues’ bye round scheduled for Round 12.

“Levi is progressing well managing that broken rib. He’s still likely to be a couple of weeks away from a return and because of the bye, he’ll come back after that week,” he said.  

Veteran defender Alex Silvagni could put his hand up for selection as early as next week, after returning to training this week from a previous achilles injury.

“Alex has been out for quite some time managing the troubles with his achilles. Pleasingly, he’ll be integrating back into training again this week so he’ll train this week and next and play with the VFL in that week,” McKay said.

McKay said Cillian McDaid and Jarrod Pickett were on track with their recovery from foot and scaphoid injuries respectively.

“Cillian has been out for some time with that foot injury, but he’s been training the past two weeks and been training really well so he’ll be a test at the end of the week,” he said. 

“Jarrod is back into training now after that fracture to his scaphoid. He’ll still be a few weeks away as he builds his fitness, but we’re looking forward to seeing him back after the bye.”

Lively forward Kym Lebois has resumed training and is eyeing a return through the VFL within a fortnight, after overcoming a fractured collarbone. 

“Kym broke his collarbone a few weeks ago and since had a plate put in. He’s been progressing really well and we're happy with how he is going so he’ll start training again this week. Then we’d be hopeful he’ll play the following week,” McKay said. 

Irishman Ciaran Byrne continues in his modified training program while managing a quad injury, with a return to the field likely following the bye week. 

“'Casey' (Byrne) has been out for a number of weeks with that quad strain and is still four weeks away at this stage so we need to be patient but we’re looking forward to getting him back then.”

INJURY LIST - AS AT 22 MAY:

Marc Murphy (foot – TBC)

Charlie Curnow (quad – test)

Tom De Koning (soreness – test)

Harrison Macreadie (hamstring – test)

Cillian McDaid (foot – test)

Alex Silvagni (achilles – 1 week)

Caleb Marchbank (ankle – 1-2 weeks)

Kym Lebois (collarbone – 2 weeks)

Levi Casboult (ribs – 2-3 weeks)

Ciaran Byrne (quad – 4 weeks)

Matthew Kennedy (ankle – 3 weeks)

Jarrod Pickett (scaphoid – 3 weeks)

Sam Docherty (knee – season)