CARLTON is yet to rule vice-captain Jacob Weitering out of Friday night's clash against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium, but the star defender is expected to require one more week after undergoing shoulder surgery at the end of May.
The 24-year-old has missed the past three games against Fremantle, Richmond and Essendon after injuring his AC joint against Collingwood in round 11.
Weitering trained with the main group in front of hundreds of supporters at Princes Park on Wednesday, along with off-season recruit Adam Cerra, who is set to return from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him for the past fortnight.
Carlton coach Michael Voss said the decision will come down to the 2020 John Nicholls medallist, but a return against West Coast in Perth next Sunday was more likely than a match-up against St Kilda spearhead Max King.
"We'll have a good look at him today. If he gets through well, then he'll be available. But it is still unlikely, still more realistic for next week. If it goes really, really well, he will be available," Voss told reporters at Ikon Park on Wednesday.
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"The real clarity that we've given him is he has to be fit and available to be able to fully function. When he's gone away and had surgery and come back, you want to know that he's come back with full strength. That's all he needs to tick off for us to be right. I've purely left it in his court. If that's this week or next week, so be it."
Carlton captain Patrick Cripps trained away from the main group briefly before heading inside, but it is understood there is nothing wrong with the midfielder who is having his workload managed on a six-day break.
Small forward Matt Owies is facing a race against time to prove his fitness for Friday night after being forced to withdraw from the game against Fremantle in the warm-up due to calf tightness.
Jack Martin has been ruled out for another week with a calf injury after being substituted out of the loss to Richmond in round 14.
"He's not training today so he won't be available. He pulled up tight in that calf, we'll give him another week and he should be fine," Voss said.
Carlton has won all five games at Marvel Stadium in 2022, positioning itself as a genuine premiership contender at 10-4 with two months to play in the home and away season.
But after a week where the Saints have been in the headlines for off-field matters, poor form and the status of Brett Ratten's contract, Voss is wary of a St Kilda side which is on the slide and desperate for a win.
"It is very easy to put a lens on the last couple of weeks and go after that, but what we tend to look at is the body of work. The talent hasn't changed. We're expecting it will be a ferocious response. We need to make sure that we're ready for that," he said.
"There might be some things sitting in the background, but that doesn't change our message or what we're trying to achieve. We've got to make sure we back up what we did last week. We were obviously able to get a lot of our phases of the game together. Our challenge is now to back it up."
Carlton can move into the top four by the end of this weekend if it beats St Kilda on Friday night, but also finish the round as low as seventh if it loses.