WESTERN Bulldogs star Adam Treloar is set to return in time for Saturday night's crunch clash against Geelong at Marvel Stadium, while young gun Sam Darcy has recovered from a rare lung injury and could resume his season this weekend.
Treloar strained his hamstring against Greater Western Sydney at Manuka Oval in round eight and has missed the past three games.
The 30-year-old was close to returning for last weekend's trip to the Northern Territory, but the club chose not to risk the midfielder against Gold Coast.
Treloar will still need to prove his fitness at training this week but is expected to tick off the final phase of his rehabilitation and be available to face the Cats.
The former Collingwood and Greater Western Sydney midfielder missed round two due to a minor hamstring complaint but was one of Luke Beveridge's prime movers across the first two months of 2023, averaging 28.9 disposals and 6.3 clearances to help fill the void left by Josh Dunkley's departure.
Darcy is on track to play his first game since a small hole was detected in his lung earlier this month after he reported breathing difficulties.
That hole has now healed with the 2021 No.2 pick on track to play for Footscray against Geelong at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Darcy played the first two games of the season for the Western Bulldogs before being dropped to the VFL, where he played four games before being sidelined.
The 208cm tall utility has endured a frustrating run in the AFL after arriving at the Whitten Oval with a stress fracture in his foot that wiped out his first half of 2022.
Roarke Smith is set to play his first game of the year on the weekend after overcoming the plantar fasciiitis issue that has plagued him across the first six months of 2023.
The 26-year-old will need to train fully later in the week before being given the green light to return on Saturday.
The Western Bulldogs returned from Darwin on Sunday afternoon after losing to the Suns by seven points at TIO Stadium on Saturday night.
With Brisbane, Melbourne and St Kilda all losing in round 11, the Dogs missed the chance to leap into the top-four.
