CARLTON is 'very confident' Matthew Kreuzer will overcome an ankle injury in time to take on Richmond in next Thursday night's season opener.
Kreuzer rolled his ankle in the Blues' JLT Community Series win over Hawthorn in Launceston last Saturday night.
Carlton football manager Andrew McKay told the club's website on Thursday Kreuzer was on track to play in round one.
Season preview: Carlton
"Matthew Kreuzer rolled his ankle but the good part about that is it's really mild,” McKay said.
“Matthew will start training again at the back end of this week and we're very confident he'll be right for round one."
McKay said Darcy Lang (ankle) and Tom Williamson (back) were also chances to play in round one, while veteran defender Sam Rowe was on track to return from a knee reconstruction – presumably in the VFL – in round one or, more likely, round two.
Carlton skipper Marc Murphy told AFL.com.au on Captains Day he expected former Giant Matthew Kennedy would make his club debut against Richmond, while last year's No.3 draft pick Paddy Dow would also go "very close" to making the round one team.
Murphy nominated Kennedy as one of the candidates who could help fill the midfield hole left by Bryce Gibbs' departure to Adelaide, with second-year players Sam Petrevski-Seton and Zac Fisher among those ready to spend more time in the middle in 2018.
The Blues will also be without Sam Docherty this year as the All Australian defender recovers from a knee reconstruction. Murphy said there was no shortage of Blues putting their hands up to replace him.
"We've had David Cuningham go back to the half-back flank, he's got some real pace down there. Ciaran Byrne, if we can manage to get him consistently out on the track, he'll be a really good half-back runner for us, and Aaron Mullett, who we got from North Melbourne, can slot in across half-back too," Murphy said.
Murphy bounced back from an injury-ravaged 2016 season to win Carlton's best and fairest award for the second time last year.
Despite turning 30 last July, the Blues skipper is confident he still has plenty of good footy left in him.
Marc Murphy and Matthew Kreuzer are crucial to developing Carlton's young players. Picture: AFL Photos
"My body is feeling really good. I've had a few injuries over the years with the shoulders and ankles, but they're feeling good," Murphy said.
"It's not like I've been doing hammys or calves, so the body's actually in pretty good nick. I've trained the whole way through the pre-season and I'm feeling really fresh.
"So going into round one I'm pretty confident of playing some good footy."
