It looked like a sickening knee injury but like so many times in career so far, Andrew Swallow has made an unlikely recovery and looks set to play against the Eagles on Friday night.

Always the first to put his body on the line, the Roo captain injured his right knee last Saturday when Bulldogs Liam Picken fell across him during a kick.

The hard-nosed midfielder trained in Perth on Thursday morning and did enough to hold his spot.

Despite being in a moon boot and on crutches, Aaron Mullett has also made a speedy recovery and will stay in the line-up for the Eagles’ clash.  

The talented young defender twisted his ankle at Etihad Stadium last week and was carried from the field in pain.  

He received medical attention at half time, but was subbed out of the game for Daniel Wells at the beginning of the third term.

The return of both players is a huge boost to North which hasn’t won at Patterson’s stadium since Round 21, 2010.

“We’ll name them, and we’ll give them every chance to play,” Brad Scott told NMFC.com.au.

"Like a lot of these things they are not cut and dry. You can't be absolutely certain until you see how they pull up the next morning, but they looked good at training and they've ticked every box up until this point.

“We’ve brought over three emergencies so we’re really well covered if they don’t come up, but we’ll give them every chance.”