North Melbourne co-captain Jy Simpkin will be available for selection this week, having progressed through concussion protocols.

The star midfielder suffered a second concussion for the season against Geelong in Round 17 and had to face external testing and neuro-physio assessments before he was given the green light to return.

"Jy has now cleared those markers and has had a couple of non-contact football sessions on-ground … he will fully train on Friday," head of performance Kevin White told NMFC Media.

Having suffered a calf strain in the third quarter against the Saints, veteran midfielder Liam Shiels has been ruled out for the next two-to-three weeks.

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Shiels has missed just two games since his arrival at Arden Street in the off-season, with concussion having ruled him out of Round 11 and a calf complaint having forced him out of the side for the Round 17 match with Geelong.

"Liam will look to increase his strength and function across this week and then progress to running once he clears his baseline markers," White mentioned.

Youngsters Tom Powell (knee/ITB), Flynn Perez (knee), and Charlie Lazzaro (back) will all face tests later in the week, and hope to return to the senior side for its clash out west with West Coast.

"Tom has made great strides in his progression from the ITB/knee overload that had been causing him discomfort and inhibition when running," White said.

"He had a strong footy conditioning session here at Arden Street on Sunday and will integrate into some of Wednesday's group drills. From here, we will look for Tom to train strongly on Friday to be up for selection this week.

"Flynn had a stretch incident in the Geelong game two weeks ago which caused swelling in his knee and some irritation.

"He spent the first week working hard to reduce the swelling and increase his range of movement and then last week he progressed to running on-ground.

"He will be put through a football session on Wednesday to assess ability to enter main training on Friday."

Initially named in the starting side for the Round 19 clash with St Kilda, Lazzaro was a late out having suffered back spasms, and despite treatment and mobility, he still had restrictions with function and running ability.

A "low-grade ankle sprain" caused Nick Larkey some discomfort from early in the second quarter onwards, but the spearhead has recovered well over the past 48 hours and is expected to play this weekend.

Charlie Comben (ankle) remains a month away, while Callum Coleman-Jones' return from a second concussion this year is yet to be confirmed.

"Charlie plateaued in his rehab progression due to soreness with higher level strength/loading of that ankle," White said.

"This has now improved to the level where we will see him start to run on-ground at the end of this week which is a positive step in his bid to return.

"Due to having suffered multiple concussions this season, 'CJ' will undertake some external testing and neuro-physio assessment.

"His timeline for return will be dictated by the recommendations of these external evaluations."