THE BLUES remain hopeful midfield duo Matthew Kreuzer and Matthew Kennedy will be available for selection ahead of Carlton’s clash against Gold Coast on Saturday.

Head of Football Andrew McKay said the pair would need to get through training in the latter stages of the week before being declared fit to play.

“Matthew Kreuzer sustained a minor groin injury against Richmond in the last game, and obviously went off the ground. We treated it quite conservatively but he has to get through training at the end of the week, and we're hopeful that we will,” McKay said.

“Matthew Kennedy obviously went off early in the game too which was a real blow for us. He sprained his ankle, the medial side of his ankle that he sprained. Again, he has to get through training this week before he can be eligible for selection.

“Both of them have to get through training at the end of the week before they're considered for selection."

Here's a replay of the rolled ankle which has ended Matt Kennedy's night.#AFLTigersBlues #BoundByBlue pic.twitter.com/lRNgXOjt7h — Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) March 22, 2018

Meanwhile, rising defender Tom Williamson will continued to be sidelined with a stiff back and is expected to be conservatively managed over the course of the next few weeks.

“Tom Williamson’s back is taking a little than we would’ve liked - it's still stiff. He hasn’t gone backwards at all but it's still stiff,” McKay said.

“Given the time of year and given Tom’s age, being a young fella, we’re going to treat him really conservatively, we’re going to push that back out to three or four weeks before he’s considered eligible for playing.”

Brutal defender Alex Silvagni has also been delayed in his return to the field, suffering a minor hamstring injury during the Blues’ VFL hit-out against Richmond at Punt Road Oval on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, Alex hurt his hamstring in the VFL game against Richmond last Thursday. Really disappointing for him and us, and it is a mild hamstring. We’re hopeful he’ll be back in two to three weeks,” McKay said.

Pleasingly, the news is more positive for recruits Matthew Shaw (hamstring) and Darcy Lang (ankle), who are both expected to be available for selection after overcoming their respective injuries.

“Matt Shaw is coming back from a hamstring injury, he’s recovered really well and been training for a couple of weeks now. He’ll be available for selection at some level,” McKay said.

“Darcy Lang has had that ankle injury the few weeks, he’s started training okay. He’ll have to get through everything by the end of the week to be considered for selection. We’ll just have to see how he goes by Thursday or Friday.”

Both Sam Rowe and Matt Lobbe will also undergo fitness tests later in the week before determining their availability for selection.

“Matt got that cork in the quad and didn’t play in the trial game against Richmond last week. It’s coming along ok, he’ll be a test at the end of the week. We’ll wait as long as we can before we rule him in or out,” he said.

“Sam Rowe is progressing quite well. He needs to get through training this week to be considered so he’ll be a test at the end of the week.”

The Blues will have their first home game hit out on Saturday afternoon, when they face the Gold Coast Suns at Etihad Stadium at 1:45pm. Click here to be #BoundByBlue in 2018 and purchase your membership today.