Melbourne star Clayton Oliver appears all but certain to make his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury in the blockbuster AFL clash with Carlton.
Oliver, who has not played since round 10, completed the Demons' main training session at Casey Fields on Wednesday.
Importantly, the 26-year-old midfielder ran freely and showed no signs of the troublesome hamstring injury in his movement.
The positive display came less than 24 hours after Melbourne football boss Alan Richardson indicated Oliver would be "right to go" against the in-form Blues at the MCG on Saturday night.
"We’ve still got a few training sessions but our expectation is that Claz (Oliver) will play," Richardson said in a statement on Tuesday.
"It's been frustrating for him and probably frustrating for our fans that he hasn't been out there sooner.
"It was a challenging injury and we had to make sure that we treated it with the respect that that sort of injury requires."
Melbourne initially struggled in Oliver's absence, losing three of their next five games after he sustained the injury, but have since peeled off five straight victories.
The Demons (14-6) sit second behind Collingwood (16-4) heading into the huge clash with Carlton, with further games against Hawthorn and Sydney to round out the home-and-away season.
"It's good the team have been able to keep performing well in (Oliver's) absence because he's such a good player," Richardson said.
"It's great to have him back and we're going to have a fresh Clayton Oliver leading into the finals, which is exciting."
Carlton pose a huge threat to Melbourne's strong run of form, the Blues having surged into fifth spot on a league-best seven-match winning streak.
