DANIEL Wells' frustrating run with injury has continued, with the North Melbourne midfielder requiring stitches in his right shin after an accident at the club on Monday.

The 24-year-old cut himself on a piece of gym equipment and has been advised by North's medical staff to keep the leg iced and elevated for two days to help the five-centimetre wound heal.

He won't be able to run for a fortnight.

Wells has been battling a debilitating groin injury for most of this season but was making ground on playing his first game since the loss to St Kilda in round 11.

He agreed his latest setback was terrible timing.

"I wasn't too far away from actually coming back," he told kangaroos.com.au. "Now it puts me back a couple of extra weeks, which is unfortunate.

"It's going to take a little while [to heal] so I've got to make sure I don't keep re-splitting it, which is a possibility because the skin's so thin.

"It can turn into something nasty if you don't manage it properly. It's not a pretty sight.

"I was going to be training this week. It's been one of those years. My right leg's copped a caning."

Wells is now listed as four to six weeks away, leaving a small late-season window for his return.

Caretaker coach Darren Crocker said last week that Wells was at least a fortnight from being considered while the club had also confirmed his conditioning had slipped because of his time on the sidelines.

Wells said he was still confident he could play again this year and dismissed speculation his groin injury had put that out of reach.

"The rehab's been pretty good recently," he said. "I ran a couple of times before the incident and that felt pretty good. It was just a matter of getting a couple of good training sessions under my belt.

"My season wasn't over, that's for sure. I was still well in the hunt.

"This makes me hungrier than ever."

Wells said he had entered the season mentally fresh and in the best physical condition he had ever been but that his injuries had tested his mettle.

He has played seven of North's 14 games this season for a career total of 130.