North Melbourne will emerge from the bye with several players closer to a return.

With both VFL affiliates also having a bye this weekend, players will be given four days off to freshen up ahead of the club’s run home.

As confirmed on Tuesday, Sam Durdin is the latest addition to the club’s injury list, with the youngster set to miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

Director of Football Geoff Walsh said there were plenty of players pushing their case for selection leading up to an important few months of football.

“Aside from the injuries to our draftees, we feel we’re in a good position to have as many players as possible available for our run into potential finals,” Walsh told NMFC.com.au.

“As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, there has been some real competition for spots in the senior side and we are seeing some players really put their hands up at VFL level . It’s certainly a headache you want to have at the selection table during match committee.”

Nick Dal Santo made an impressive return from his hamstring injury in North’s win over the Giants in Sydney last weekend.

“Nick certainly showed us what he’s capable of on Saturday against the Giants and pulled up really well and is definitely keen to get some back-to-back games under his belt,” Walsh said.