INJURY-PRONE Greater Western Sydney recruit Brett Deledio will make his long-awaited return to football in the NEAFL on Saturday.

Deledio, who joined the club from the Tigers in last year's trade period, will play against Sydney University at Blacktown International SportsPark.

He hasn't played at any level since round 17 last year.

The 30-year-old has been dogged by calf injuries since arriving at the club, but has stepped up his training load in recent weeks.

Coach Leon Cameron confirmed to Fox Footy the star forward will play around 50 to 60 per cent of the game on Saturday.

"We were probably thinking he'd play next week but he's trained really well this week," Cameron said.

"He'll probably play 50 to 60 percent in the NEAFL on the weekend, it's great for Brett and great for the club as we know what he's been through.

"He does need to play footy to get footy fit, it might be a couple of weeks of NEAFL before we look to put bring him into the AFL.

"Touch wood he gets through unscathed this weekend, he needs another game next week and then hopefully he'll be knocking on the door after that."

Deledio played 243 games for Richmond since being draft with pick No.1 in the 2004 NAB AFL Draft.