Jaidyn Stephenson could be available for this weekend’s clash with Richmond despite being substituted out of last week’s game against Collingwood with a hip complaint.

Stephenson had a strong impact in the contest across the first three quarters before being replaced in the clash by Jack Mahony, with the exciting midfielder in obvious discomfort in his final minutes in the game.

Head of Performance Kevin White says Stephenson has recovered quickly over recent days.

“Jaidyn has progressed really well, especially in the past 24 hours. He’ll be on a modified session at main training tomorrow and we hope he’ll be available this weekend,” White told North Media.

“He received a knee impact into his lower back and hip area early in the third quarter and as the game progressed he was struggling with running function and change of direction.

“We obviously removed him from the game due to that lack of function, but he’s recovering well at the moment.”

Veteran defender Aaron Hall is inching closer to returning from the quad strain he picked up in the early stages of the Round 16 game against Geelong.

Hall was substituted out of the contest in the first quarter of a game that also saw Kayne Turner suffer a concussion.

“‘Hally’ is progressing well with that minor quad strain. The plan this week is to build his speed, acceleration and footy function in a gradual manner away from the main group,” White said.

“This will have him better placed to return next week and enhance his ability to finish off the year strongly, rather than rush him to be cleared this week.”

Young forward Charlie Comben is set to ramp up his return from a minor knee operation in the coming weeks, with the young forward primed to have an impact late in the season.

Before having the procedure ahead of Round 12 Comben was in fine form at VFL-level having kicked three goals and taken six marks in a strong performance against Sandringham the week prior.

“Charlie had surgery to remove screws from a previous operation that were causing him pain and limiting his high-end football function,” White said.

“Post-recovery he’s now graduated through Alter-G running loading and on-field running loading, and he’s now transitioning back into football conditioning.

“We want to build his football loads over then next two weeks, and if he tolerates that block well we plan to have him available in Round 20.”

Ben Cunnington is continuing to move through his recovery from a calf injury, and is firming for a return to football in the coming weeks.

“‘Cunners’ is progressing really well through his strength and running loading,” White said.

“We’ll look to reintegrate him into football training next week and build towards a return to play if he absorbs that loading phase well in the coming weeks.”

Kayne Turner is available for this weekend’s clash with Richmond after overcoming the concussion he suffered against Geelong.

Turner copped a heavy knock to the face late in the first quarter, with an accidental collision from Mark Blicavs forcing him from the field.

“Kayne has recovered well from his head knock and progressed through modified football loading over the weekend,” White said.

“As long as he gets through main training on Wednesday he’ll be cleared and available for selection.”

Jared Polec’s recovery from an ankle injury has been slow going for the winger, with the 148-game player still experiencing pain in his surgically repaired ankle.

After returning from a hamstring injury in Round 2, Polec has been unsighted at any level since Round 3 and will be put on ice for the remainder of the season.

"Unfortunately Jared is still at the point where he has pain in his ankle, and that’s limited his ability to graduate to ground running and building solid conditioning on-field,” White said.

“A conservative approach to enhance his recovery and maximise the status of the ankle will be the priority for the remainder of the season.”

Kyron Hayden has been battling ongoing groin pain for some time, which is unfortunately now at the point where he will reduce his training loads and sit out games for the next couple of weeks in the hope that his symptoms subside.

It is hoped he can resume playing for the last few weeks of the season.

>> Click here for the full injury list, thanks to AIA Vitality