BEN CUNNINGTON has been cleared to take on Carlton, but North Melbourne remains undecided on the midfield combination it will take into Sunday's game, with Trent Dumont passed fit but no certainty to return.

Cunnington injured his right knee when tackled by Jack Viney in the Roos' win over Melbourne last Sunday but, after a brief stint on the bench, played out the game strongly.

North coach Brad Scott told reporters on Friday that Cunnington had recovered so well this week there would be no need to put him through a fitness test before Sunday's game.

But the Roos coach said only that Dumont, who missed the Demons win with concussion, was "a chance" to return against the Blues, with North facing some tough decisions on its midfield mix.

"We're still sort of having a look at our midfield mix. (Dumont) is going to be fit to play, so we've just to make that call," Scott said.

"There are a few guys who played well last week who would be very unlucky to lose their spots and, on the flipside, there will be some guys who didn't play who will be unlucky not to come back in if we choose to go that way.

"But the good thing is we've got a really strong, fit 25 to pick from."

Former captain Andrew Swallow came into North's team last week for the first time in a month, having been demoted to the VFL after the Roos' round five loss to Fremantle.

Swallow was a solid performer against the Demons with 17 possessions (12 contested) and nine tackles, but Dumont's return to fitness along with fellow midfielder Jed Anderson, who missed round nine with a foot injury, could mean the three-time best and fairest winner's senior comeback is short-lived.

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"We probably looked at the start of the year to get [our midfielders] in and play them in slightly different roles to perhaps what would be their first choice and we'll keep working through that," Scott said.

"If players can adapt their roles then we can play more like what might be our best 22 on paper, but then the flipside of that is do we play our best positional team?

"We're working through that with the individuals involved and as a match committee. We're not crystal-clear right now, but we've got our squad of 25 (for Sunday's game) and [the midfield] will clearly come from that."

Scott also suggested ruckman Braydon Preuss was unlikely to come into the Roos' 22 this week despite being named on the extended bench.

"I've mentioned before that we're really keen to try and work out a way to get him in there, but I've mentioned also that there aren't too many teams that are playing two genuine ruckmen," Scott said.

"In fact, there are a lot of teams not really going with a genuine back-up, so that's the way the game's being played a little bit at the moment. Our hands are tied to a certain extent, but we'll try and be innovative and try and work a way to get him in."

After impressing in this year's JLT Community Series, Preuss debuted in round one and held his spot for the following three rounds, but has been stuck in the VFL since.

Scott admitted playing in the VFL was "not perfect" for Preuss' development, but was confident the former rugby player would continue the rapid progression he had made over the past year.