JARRAD Waite is mounting a late bid to play in Carlton's elimination final against Essendon on Sunday.

The important forward has battled to recover from the hip surgery he underwent shortly after the round 16 clash against the Western Bulldogs, but passed a series of fitness tests over the weekend with flying colours.  

"He went really well. He will train on Thursday and try and make a late bid to put [forward] his case to play," coach Brett Ratten said on Tuesday.

"He pulled up really well and he ran again today. There were a lot of positives out of it so hopefully Thursday … might be D-day for him in regards to making a claim for the finals series let alone try to get in this week."

If Waite's condition continues to improve Ratten will be forced into a tough decision at the selection table given his stated to desire to only take fit players into the match.

The coach floated the idea of using Waite as the substitute player to squeeze him into the 22.

"Long kicking might be something that we do later in the game," he said.

"[We could] bring him into the game [late] because he could stand out of a goalsquare and go pretty well I think."

Star ruckman Matthew Kreuzer and full-back Michael Jamison training sparingly on Tuesday with Ratten saying they will play "if everything goes right".

Kreuzer was subbed out of Saturday night's loss to St Kilda and spent a night in hospital with numbness in his left foot, but was discharged without undergoing any surgery.

Jamison did not play against the Saints after pulling up sore from his second game back from knee surgery that sidelined him for seven weeks.

Andrew Carrazzo was also absent on Saturday after suffering mild whiplash in a traffic collision on Friday, but will definitely return to the team for the do-or-die clash.