SMALL forward Nathan Hrovat will miss North Melbourne's clash against Carlton on Saturday night after suffering a thumb injury that will sideline him for at least two to three weeks.

Hrovat suffered a small fracture in his thumb after tackling a teammate at North's main training session on Wednesday.

"It's a very small fracture and specialist advice is that he won't need any surgery at this stage," football manager Cameron Joyce confirmed.

"We're hopeful that he'll only miss a few weeks, but it could also be less depending how he recovers. It's hard to put a timeframe on at this early stage."

Coach Brad Scott said on Wednesday the Kangaroos were unlikely to make many selection changes this round given the poor performance of the club's VFL team against the NAB AFL Academy side last Saturday.

Vice-captain Robbie Tarrant (hamstring soreness) is expected to return against the Blues and will likely be North's only inclusion.

However, with rain expected in Hobart on Saturday night, the Roos could opt to bring in rookie Cameron Zurhaar as a like-for-like replacement for Hrovat.

Scott said senior defender Sam Wright was expected to play another one or two VFL games before making his senior return from ankle and foot injuries, while North wanted forward Mason Wood to hit consistent form in the VFL before recalling him for his first game of 2018.

Saturday night's game will be the first Hrovat has missed since joining North via the Western Bulldogs in the 2016 trade period.