GEELONG has received a boost with star veteran Steve Johnson set to play in the club's last NAB Challenge hit-out against Carlton at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The Cats are confident Johnson has shaken off any lasting effects from the 'corkie' (just above his right knee) he suffered in a superb return to football against Collingwood's VFL side at Simonds Stadium on Saturday.
Johnson trained with teammates who played in the VFL game on Monday and Geelong expects the three-time premiership star to run out with the AFL side on Sunday.
"Yes he will (play)," Cats football manager Steve Hocking told AFL.com.au.
"At this point in time it doesn't look like there's any ramifications from the weekend.
"He trained yesterday and he did some running and recovery, as they do post-match, so it doesn't look like there's anything that's going to hold him back."
Johnson fell awkwardly in a tackle halfway through the third quarter of the match against the Pies, limping from the field and taking no further part in the contest.
He was also spotted leaving the game on crutches, having kicked three goals up until half-time.
The Cats are also weighing up whether to play recruit Rhys Stanley in a VFL practice match against Richmond at Simonds Stadium on Saturday.
Stanley has not played at all this pre-season after battling bone bruising in his leg and is not likely to be ready for round one.
Unfortunately for Stanley and the Cats, the VFL side has a bye next weekend with their next game scheduled on April 4 – two days before Geelong's Easter Monday clash against Hawthorn.
"He's still a little way off. It's just the case of whether we've got enough work into him," Hocking said.
"The question mark on Stanley at the moment is whether it's this week. We've got a bye the week after so it's difficult to get a game into him.
"If he misses this one it's more than likely it's going to be around round one before he starts getting back into playing."
Along with Johnson, the Cats welcomed back Josh Cowan, who had not played since 2013 following three Achilles tendon operations, as well as young key forward Josh Walker in the VFL practice match.
Hocking said Walker had been battling a virus and had missed a fortnight of training before showing some promising signs in his return on Saturday.
He also said fellow big man Nathan Vardy's recovery from a torn ACL, at the start of 2014, was progressing as expected.
"He's doing everything and then some, and we're really happy with where he's currently at," Hocking said.
"He hasn't had any issues with the knee, so it's just about putting in a lot of work."
