Patrick Dangerfield is set to take to the field this weekend for the first time since injuring his calf in Round 10 and completing a training program to prime his body for the run home.
Geelong coach Chris Scott said that he expects the 32-year-old to line up against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon while saying the club will continue to be conservative with player injuries as the season moves towards its latter stages.
"We'd like to see this (training) session today especially, but our plan has been pretty conservative in terms of the injury management, getting through enough work into Patrick which he was denied earlier in the year," Scott told the media.
"Every indication is that he'll be ready to go.
"But I must say that over the next whatever it is, eight or nine weeks to finish off the year, that we won't hesitate with any of our players to play it a bit more conservatively if that is what the data is telling us.
"It's exciting that it looks as if Dustin Martin is back and Patrick Dangerfield is back, I hope they get to play on each other a bit."
Scott confirmed that veteran midfielder Shaun Higgins would return via the VFL this weekend. The 34-year-old hasn't played since round seven, also completing a period of training to get his body for the run home.
The premiership coach also suggested that the news around the club's heavier training load in the past few weeks as "a little overblown".
"It hasn't been a departure from that what we have been doing in previous years," he said.
"There's always a balance for us...we certainly won't have any excuses going into this game.
"We think our preparation has been good for the longer-term for the couple of months to come, but by this week we think we're primed to play well."
The Cats will face an important clash in their season against the Tigers on Saturday afternoon (4:35 pm AEST), with a win vital to keeping up in the top four race for Scott's men.
