AFTER three WAFL reserves games, Fremantle looks set to be boosted by the return of Des Headland to face St Kilda this Sunday.

The goal-kicking midfielder has not played since round four due to a knee injury but has now played two games with Subiaco's reserves and one with Peel when the Lions had the bye. The 27-yerar-old confident his knee and body is ready to return to AFL level this Sunday at Subiaco Oval.

"I pulled up OK after the game on the weekend and hopefully I can get through training this week. It's the best I've felt game wise and I'm getting better each week so I can't wait to get back out there for Freo," Headland said on Monday.

"I played close to 90 per cent of the game. I came off for the last eight minutes but played the majority of the game before that.

"I pulled up well, so hopefully I train well during the week and put my hand up for selection this week against St Kilda. I'm looking forward to that but, if it doesn’t happen, I'll go back to Subi again and make sure I'm fit enough to go back in the AFL system."

Headland hasn’t been able to break in for a league game at Subiaco, who currently sit six games clear on top of the WAFL ladder, and renewed acquaintances with former Fremantle teammate Jarrod Schofield who both played in the Lions' twos on Saturday.

Headland was pleased with his 17-possession, one goal performance and is now confident he can stand up to the pressures of AFL football again.

"I had a chat to (coach) Mark (Harvey) last week and he said that it didn’t matter if I played with Subi's league or reserves as long as I pulled up good and played well he would consider me for selection this week," he said.

"Every player wants to play as long as you can but, if I do play, it will be as an impact player off the bench, I wouldn’t be able to run out the whole game. I might play about 60 per cent of the game.

"I've been told that my knee isn’t going to get any worse, the main thing is to make sure I don’t tear something else and miss a couple of weeks.

"I've been building up my strength each week so that's a positive sign and every time I train I'm running a bit faster and kicking a bit better on the left."

Headland has found it tough not being able to help his teammates win some close games since he picked up an injury, but is confident if they play like they did against the Sydney Swans on Saturday night they can beat the Saints on Sunday.

"The boys played a great game until the last couple of minutes when Sydney got on top. Besides that the boys put in a great effort and a lot of young boys stepped up again," he said.

"If we can take that effort into the game against St Kilda this week, who play a similar game style to Sydney, I'm sure it will go a long way to us winning the game."