North Melbourne linchpin Ben McKay will join full contact training this week in an effort to prove his fitness for Saturday's game against Adelaide.

McKay was a late withdrawal for Sunday's game against Sydney, having pulled up sore from a shoulder injury sustained against Essendon the week prior.

"Ben had copped a direct hit to his AC joint," Head of Performance Kevin White told North Media.

"He was managed conservatively throughout the week with respect to contact training and gym, and was tested on our main training day (Thursday).

"Ben pulled up sore the days following, and consensus was that his function wasn’t quite at the level for him to play against the Swans.

"He'll go through main training on Wednesday, with full contact and functional assessment needed to be cleared in order for him to be selected."

Ben Cunnington has prioritised recovery and treatment so far this week, following his first competitive hit-out in 12 months.

The 31-year-old collected 18 disposals, four marks and three clearances in limited minutes for North Melbourne's reserves on Sunday.

"Ben pulled up with high levels of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) from hits and collisions, which has been a new stimulus for him," White explained.

"His game loading was managed, and Ben topped up with conditioning running afterwards to then be in a position to extend his game load moving into this week."

Father-son recruit Jackson Archer is progressing well in his attempt to overcome the injury which kept him out of last week's game.

Having featured behind the ball against the Bombers in Round 20, Archer was ruled out of the Sydney game with a hip complaint.

It was the second such injury for the 18-year-old this season, having been hurt at training in the days after his impressive debut against Adelaide.

"Jackson is tracking really well in recovering from his hip flexor injury," White went on.

"Over the weekend he progressed his running, acceleration and deceleration, and agility work.

"He will be put through high acceleration and speed testing on Wednesday, and then train fully to put his hand up for selection this week."

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