Key defender Kallan Dawson has been ruled out for the next 2-3 weeks, while prized draft pick Colby McKercher should be good to go for Sunday's game against Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium after copping a strong hit to the chest against Geelong.

Dawson rolled his ankle during Friday's training session, resulting in lateral ligament damage that saw him replaced in the selected side by club debutant Bigoa Nyuon.

McKercher will bridge back into full-contact training later in the week and be available for selection.

"Over the past few days, Kallan (Dawson) has been off legs and icing (his ankle) to reduce the swelling," North Melbourne head of performance Kevin White told NMFC Media.

"He will continue to be in the recovery phase this week until he's pain-free and can weight-bear comfortably.

>> VIEW THE FULL INJURY LIST

"Colby sustained strong contact to the sternum on the weekend and was in discomfort.

"A conservative approach was taken, and he was brought to the hospital for scans/X-Ray which revealed no significant damage."

Dynamic forward Cam Zurhaar will need to prove his fitness if he is to return to the line-up for the Round 6 clash with the Hawks.

Having experienced calf tightness early last week, Zurhaar missed the trip to the Cattery with scans showing a low-level strain.

"He has put in a strong couple of running and strength sessions and will now look to clear our soft-tissue running protocols this week to be available," White said.

Miller Bergman and Liam Shiels will also face tests, with Bergman aiming to make a comeback from a fractured jaw he suffered in the opening round of the VFL season.

"Miller will look to return to play this weekend, now just needing to tick off full-contact training to put his hand up for selection, which is great news," White said.

"Liam had some calf overload throughout the week and couldn’t quite clear our protocols on Friday to play on the weekend. His signs are really good now and he's in a similar position to Cam and will need to clear our soft-tissue running protocols to be available.

Forward Cooper Harvey is now under a month away from returning to the field and is making great strides five weeks after picking up his syndesmosis injury.

"Cooper is now in a reconditioning phase where we'll look to build his jump and agility on the injured side," White said.

"He will continue to ramp up his running loads and football function on-field before aiming to get into some skill drills next week with the main group."

Griffin Logue (knee) has entered a load absorption phase after progressing through an "intense four-week block" of on-field training and strength work in the gym.

The defender is now estimated to return in approximately seven weeks.

"In a couple of weeks, he will undergo his external athletic assessment review as a clearance to return to group training," White said.