GEELONG will give star forward Jeremy Cameron as long as possible to prove his fitness this week ahead of Friday night's blockbuster against Sydney.
The Cats will regain star midfielder Mitch Duncan and defender Jed Bews for the trip to the harbour city, where Sydney superstar Lance Franklin is now within four goals of becoming just the sixth player to boot 1000 goals in VFL/AFL history.
Cameron was discharged from hospital on Saturday night after being cleared of internal bleeding and organ damage, following a nasty collision with Essendon defender Jayden Laverde in the 66-point round one win at the MCG.
The 28-year-old suffered a hip pointer injury in the collision that sent him to a Melbourne hospital, but walked into GMHBA Stadium on Monday morning in good spirits and ticked off the first part of his recovery.
The plan is for the Coleman Medal winner to complete some low level running on Tuesday, train at some capacity at Wednesday's main training session before the Cats travel to Sydney on Thursday for the captain's run at the SCG.
The former Greater Western Sydney spearhead will be a day-by-day proposition for Geelong, who remain optimistic Cameron will return to the city he spent the first nine seasons of his career before the Cats lured him back to Country Victoria at the end of 2020.
After a summer of scrutiny, the combination of Tom Hawkins and Cameron terrorised Ben Rutten's defence before the two-time All-Australian ran back with the flight of the ball and crashed into Laverde, exiting the game with two first-quarter goals on the board and the threat of many more.
Duncan has been given the green light to return against Sydney this weekend after playing three quarters of a VFL practice match against Essendon at The Hangar on Saturday.
Geelong resisted the temptation to recall the 30-year-old straight into the senior 22 after Duncan missed the final month of the pre-season, including both practice matches against Richmond and Gold Coast due to a calf strain.
But after pulling up with no issues on Monday, Duncan will resume his AFL career on Friday night after an interrupted end to his 13th pre-season.
Bews will also be available for selection after missing the first game of the season due to the concussion he suffered against Gold Coast in the AAMI Community Series.
Young key defender Sam De Koning won't be available for the trip to New South Wales after suffering a concussion in the second half against Essendon.
Irishman Mark O'Connor is in contention to return this weekend after being dogged by knee tendinitis across the past month.
The Cats may opt for the 25-year-old to return via the VFL rather than AFL, with Geelong's VFL side opening the season this weekend by hosting Essendon at GMHBA Stadium.