Veteran Ryan Griffen could be in line to return from a hamstring injury against Carlton in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

Griffen has managed a hamstring tendon injury that has seen him miss the past two matches, but GIANTS Head of Athletic Performance David Joyce said Griffen could return to the field this week.

“He didn’t have a traditional hamstring strain because his was actually the tendon, so he’d stretched the tendon rather than the muscles, so you need to treat that slightly differently to what you would a conventional strain,” Joyce said. 

“We pulled back his loads a little bit and have accelerated him the last seven days, he’s been out training and will hopefully be able to put his hand up in main training on Thursday.

“Should he get through that, I think he’ll be available this weekend.” 

Defender Aidan Corr has also missed two matches with a groin complaint and will spend another week on the sidelines.

“He’s improving and he’s back running,” Joyce said.

“We nursed him a little bit in pre-season and he’s had a terrific, career-best season so far.

“He was just starting to get a little bit of groin pain, so we backed him right off because we didn’t want to just nurse that through the end of the season.  

“We’ve re-introduced him into some running and hopefully we see him figure in selection over the next couple of weeks.” 

Matt de Boer (ankle) and Harry Perryman (hamstring) both made successful returns from injury in the NEAFL on Saturday.

“We always knew Harry would be a short rehab from a relatively minor hamstring strain and he did particularly well,” Joyce said. 

“The surprise packet was Matthew de Boer who came from nowhere, we thought he was probably a four-week ankle injury and he only missed a couple, so he worked exceptionally hard during his rehab … he performed exceptionally well on the weekend.”

Joyce also touched on how the strength and conditioning team handled Jeremy Cameron’s five-week suspension as he gets sets for a return this week.

“We needed to give him a little bit of time off his toe, which was a well-publicised complaint in the first third of the season,” Joyce said.

“So, we were able to invest that time wisely in some off-feet conditioning and then over the last three-and-half to four weeks he’s had a mini pre-season.  

“He looks in ripping nick … and we expect him to be ready to go this weekend.”

Injury List - July 31