Leigh Adams has long been regarded as one of North’s bravest players and on Saturday, his reputation is set to be enhanced further.

The 27-year-old will make a return to football via the VFL with Werribee on the weekend after spending the last few months recovering from a number of heavy collisions.

"Although he was always desperate to get back playing, it was always about his health and safety," senior assistant coach Darren Crocker told NMFC.com.au.

"Footy is a brutal game and Patch had to be ready within himself to come back and know that there’s was nothing holding him back."

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Adams left the field with concussion in a Werribee pre-season practice match against Footscray and because of concerns about his ongoing welfare following a number of other head knocks, he had regular appointments with a neurologist to ensure there were no lingering issues.

After getting the ‘all-clear’ in recent weeks, he was been able to step up his recovery program and return to full contact training.

"Patch is an underrated player for us," Crocker added.

"We always know that he will play his role and if all goes well, he’ll be a highly valuable addition to the senior side in the back-half of the year."

Adams last played for North in Round 23, 2014 against Melbourne.

"There’s no doubt, Leigh has been itching to get back in to competitive action," Director of Football Geoff Walsh said.

"He’s been meticulous with his training and preparation in the past few weeks and has been doing all the right things both on and off the track during his recovery.

"We will give him every chance to prove his fitness throughout the week and are quite hopeful he’ll be back in action on Saturday which is fantastic."

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