RICHMOND assistant coach Brian Royal says the return of ball-winning midfielder Nathan Foley for Saturday's MCG match against Fremantle will provide an important boost for the Tigers.

Foley missed last weekend's win over Hawthorn with a hip injury, but was named in the team to play against Freo.

While he did some extra one-on-one work at the end of Thursday's training session, Royal said there was no doubt he would play.

Given Fremantle's improved work around the clearances, led by the dominance of ruck giant Aaron Sandilands, Royal noted Foley's return was timely.

"Nathan's our best clearance player, so it's extremely important that he's playing this weekend," Royal said.

But a return date for star forward Nathan Brown, who missed the Hawks match and will also be absent on Saturday because of leg soreness, was less certain.

"It's a difficult one to answer at the moment, because you just don't know how long it's going to take with him.

"Particularly in the past he's had some injuries and we just don't want to risk (bringing him back early)."

The Tigers retain a slim finals chance, needing to win their last two games as well as relying on other results going their way.