Fremantle forward Hayden Ballantyne faces a make-or-break period as he bids to save his AFL career.
Ballantyne is set to make his first AFL appearance of the season in Sunday's clash with Geelong at Simonds Stadium.
The 29-year-old missed the start of the season after undergoing hamstring surgery in March.
And his AFL return was further delayed when he re-injured his left hamstring in his sole WAFL appearance last month.
Ballantyne comes out of contract at the end of the season, and another lengthy injury setback could spell the end of his career.
The 141-game veteran was an All-Australian in 2014, but has struggled to recapture that form since.
Fremantle are in the first season of a four-year rebuild, and veterans such as Zac Dawson, Jon Griffin, Danyle Pearce, Zac Clarke, Garrick Ibbotson, and Nick Suban face a fight to be retained for next year.
If Ballantyne can contribute strongly in the second half of the season, Fremantle are likely to offer the feisty goalsneak a one-year deal.
But another long-term injury or a drop in form could see the Dockers cut him loose.
Fremantle coach Ross Lyon hinted Ballantyne's future would be decided at the end of the season.
"He is really important. We value him. He loves the club," Lyon said.
"But at the end of the day it's a profession. He needs to come to commercial terms.
"But I'm really here to talk about the game and Hayden. That (his contract) is a back story that doesn't involve me. Probably at some point it will, but it's certainly not relevant at the minute."
Ballantyne still needs to get through training this week before he is given the final green light to return against Geelong.
Lyon is also hopeful Aaron Sandilands will return following a four-week stint on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Captain Nat Fyfe has been cleared to play against Geelong despite nursing some heavy bruises around his chest in recent games.
Lyon said the club's mid-season bye had helped Fyfe recover, and he downplayed the severity of the injury.
"There's no doubt on him," Lyon said.
"Nathan hasn't had any conversations to me about, 'I'm sore'.
"Clearly he's had some bruising. But that's all it is. There's no fractures."
Fremantle midfielder Harley Bennell joined in with the main group at training on Tuesday as he edges closer to making a comeback via the WAFL.
Bennell has been plagued by calf issues since joining Fremantle at the end of 2015, but he could make a WAFL appearance within the next two to three weeks.
Geelong will be without tagger Scott Selwood (hamstring) and forward Nakia Cockatoo (hamstring) for Sunday's match, but will be bolstered by the return of forward Tom Hawkins and Mark Blicavs.
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