Veteran Liam Shiels is set to be available for selection against Essendon this weekend, while star midfielder Luke Davies-Uniacke is closing in on a return in the next fortnight.

Shiels didn't play against Collingwood due to delayed concussion in the aftermath of the Round 10 loss to the Sydney Swans.

North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White said Shiels should train fully in Thursday morning's main session.

"Liam has been trending well in response to graduated low-medium intensity training," White said.

"He will tick off controlled contact early this week to then fall into unrestricted full contact training and game availability this weekend."

Davies-Uniacke hasn't featured since suffering a hamstring strain in the Round 9 defeat against Port Adelaide.

"Luke made significant strides in his return to play aspirations on Saturday with a strong on-field session at Arden St," White said.

"This week we will look to increase Luke’s sprint work and acceleration on ground as well as push his strength in the gym.

"Hopefully this will see him well positioned to fold in with the main program next week to prove his fitness."

While the Kangaroos emerged unscathed at AFL level, winger Curtis Taylor went down in the VFL with a foot injury, but will be a test to feature this weekend.

"Curtis had an incident during the game where he has kicked the leg of an opposition player in attempting to kick the football at high force," White said.

"This resulted in acute soreness and swelling of the forefoot of his kicking leg. A conservative approach was taken to remove him from the game until confidently clearing Curtis of any fracture.

"Subsequent follow-up has cleared him of sinister damage with soft tissue bruising the main ailment. He is recovering well and will look to prove his function at main training this week to be available for selection."

>> VIEW THE FULL INJURY LIST

In Round 9 against the Casey Demons ruck Hamish Free suffered a shoulder dislocation that slipped out and back in with no restricted function and he played out the game.

Advice from the specialist was to undergo a four-week period of natural healing and strength before reassessing for what the next steps will be moving forward.

Defender Aiden Bonar has been experiencing knee discomfort and will be taken out of the program this week for further investigation with the hope of returning next week.

Meanwhile, forward Charlie Comben (ankle) has been making "great gains" in his rehab program and will commence preparation to run over the next week and then build running and jumping loads after that.