NORTH Melbourne is confident co-captain Jy Simpkin will make his return from another nasty concussion ahead of this Saturday's clash with Fremantle.

Simpkin made it through the Kangas' main training session on Tuesday morning and will need to be assessed further after another hitout on Thursday, though it's expected he will be made available for the game at Marvel Stadium.

It's a much-needed slice of good news for the club, after Simpkin sustained his third concussion in the space of just nine months following a nasty bump from St Kilda's Jimmy Webster in the AAMI Community Series.

Webster received a seven-game suspension for the bump that landed Simpkin in the AFL's concussion protocols on March 3.

North Melbourne had been cautious to put an exact timeframe on Simpkin's return, given the nature of the injury and the number of concussions he had sustained in the last year, though the club has been pleased with his recovery in recent days.

Simpkin was subbed out of last year's game with Essendon on June 4 after a clash of heads with Sam Durham, before he missed two weeks later in the year after suffering a delayed concussion from an incident against Geelong on July 9.

The Kangas will be forced into at least one other change from last week's season-opening defeat to the Giants, with young defender Josh Goater expected to be sidelined for an extended period after rupturing his Achilles.

Key forward Nick Larkey captained North Melbourne for last week's round one clash against Greater Western Sydney, with Simpkin and fellow co-skipper Luke McDonald (hamstring) both sidelined.