Luke McDonald is set to make his return to the North Melbourne team this weekend, assuming he can get through training.

The 2020 Syd Barker Medallist has missed the first three games of the season due to a quad injury, but will be a welcome addition in defence.

“We expect him (McDonald) to be available this week. It’s really exciting for us to possibly have Luke back in the side,” GM Football Brady Rawlings told North Media.

“He’s a vital member of our team and our reigning best and fairest winner, so we’ve got our main training session and the hope is Luke gets through that with no issues, and if so be available for selection.”

The Roos could also get back Aiden Bonar, who missed last week’s game with an adductor injury, and Curtis Taylor, after sitting out the last fortnight due to the concussion protocols.

“Aiden got that injury against the Gold Coast … he actually played through a bit of pain that night,” Rawlings said.

“We felt that he probably could have been up for last week’s game, but the risk to play Aiden with some other players coming back after rehab, we felt like it was too big a risk to take him in as well.

“We gave him the week off and he’s got some really good training minutes in. If he gets through main training tomorrow (Friday), he’ll be available for selection.

“Curtis received that concussion in round one and obviously with the new rules it ruled him out for 12 days. He’s got a main training session, but we expect him to be fine and he should be available for selection this week.”

Rawlings confirmed Jed Anderson would spend an extended time on the sidelines, after surgery on his injured ankle.

Click here for more injury news, presented by AIA Vitality

View the full Brady Rawlings injury report below.