DARCY Lang will play his first VFL game for the Northern Blues since crossing over to Carlton from Geelong during the 2017 trade period.

The versatile midfielder was last week declared fit to play after injuring his ankle in pre-season, but a bye in the VFL meant he had to wait until the Northern Blues' clash with Port Melbourne on Saturday to make his long-awaited return to the field.

“The body has come good, finally. It was a bit longer than we expected, but the last two weeks I have been feeling really good,” Lang said.

“Pre-season goes for too long in my view, so when you have an injury and it delays the start of the season you’re even more keen,” Lang said.

Lang, who was prominent in the midfield for the Cats, also had an impact further forward, managing 31 goals across 44 games.

On his goals for his return to football, Lang said he aimed to “build up match fitness first and foremost" and "earn the respect of the players and play to my strengths".

After overcoming an ankle injury, new recruit Darcy Lang has his sights set on a Carlton debut in the coming weeks. (Photo: AFL Media)

The 22-year-old, who played for Geelong between 2014 and 2017, saw opportunity at Carlton, selecting the Club as his preferred trade destination at the end of the 2017 season.

He said he was eager to pull on the No.16 Carlton guernsey in the coming weeks.

“(I want to) play AFL as quickly as possible hopefully. I haven’t had the conversation with the coaches yet but that’ll come this week I think, so we’ll see how we go.”

The Northern Blues' Round 4 team will be announced tonight, following Carlton naming its line-up to face the Western Bulldogs at 6:20pm AEST.