Hale has done little since suffering a knock to his back in the first quarter of last weekend’s win over Adelaide, however scans have cleared the 25-year-old of any structural damage.
McIntosh, 25, injured the AC joint in his right shoulder in the round-seven loss to Collingwood and though he returned to the field in that game, was a late withdrawal from the side that faced the Crows.
Chief of football Donald McDonald said both players would be assessed by senior coach Brad Scott and club doctor Con Mitropoulos at Wednesday’s main session, and that time was still on their side.
“Hopefully he (Hale) can show some real improvement but he’s probably touch and go at the minute,” McDonald told kangaroos.com.au.
“We’re just going to see how he goes at training to see what his mobility’s like. It’s only Wednesday. We’ve got three days before we play.
“It’s the same with Hamish. At this stage, we really can’t make a call on them until we see them train.
“Todd Goldstein stood up really well [against Adelaide], but this week coming up against (Will) Minson and (Ben) Hudson will be a huge ask for him. We’d like to have the boys available.”
McDonald said Hale was sent to hospital on Saturday night in some distress, but the key forward was able to return to Etihad Stadium by the end of the game.
“It was unusual. He just copped a knock to the back … whether he landed on it or it was in a pack [is unclear],” he said.
“It just seized up on him and it’s just going to take a little bit to settle. Whether a bit of a bone’s been bruised or not, we’re not 100 per cent certain.”
North will continue to take a cautious approach with McIntosh, who wasn’t risked against Adelaide despite the likelihood he would have got through.
McDonald said AC joint injuries had the potential to linger, which the club had to consider when determining the fitness of its chief ruckman.
“He hasn’t really been under any real physical pressure yet at training,” he said.
“It’s still a long season ahead of us and you can’t take any risks. He’s a good player and we want to make sure that he’s right.”
Vice-captain Drew Petrie will rejoin his teammates on Wednesday for his first full session since breaking a bone in his left foot in late March.
McDonald said it would be a “gradual progression” for Petrie, who was likely to return to the senior side by round 11.
