Brisbane recruit Allen Christensen appears poised to make an immediate impact at the Lions in next month's AFL season opener.
The 23-year-old former Geelong player has impressed Lions coach through the pre-season and looks a certain inclusion for the April 4 home clash against Collingwood.
Christensen will play against Gold Coast in the Lions' final pre-season match on Friday night, and if he avoids injury, Leppitsch is backing him to line-up against the Magpies.
"He's a very good player," Leppitsch told reporters.
"You can see he's a boy that's grown up with a ball in his hand. He's got smart decision-making skills, he's got the lot. He's just got to get his fitness back and we have to manage that with his time."
Christensen's career stalled at the Cats due to several injuries, including a serious back problem that limited him to just eight matches last year.
Leppitsch says the pacy midfielder will need to be managed throughout the year to ensure he gets his body fully right.
"There may be a time we'll have to rest him throughout the season, given the fact he hasn't had a pre-season, and he's gone a year or two where he hasn't had full years," Leppitsch said.
"We have to be pretty smart with him the way we manage him."
The Lions won't have to face Suns skipper Gary Ablett on Friday night, with the dual Brownlow Medallist still on the comeback path from his season-ending shoulder surgery from last year.
It means Ablett will go into the new campaign without any match action under his belt, but Leppitsch said he'd have no concerns about pitching him straight into a team if he were Ablett's coach.
"I did it in 2004, came off the same shoulder surgery and played round one without a pre-season (game)," he said.
"I can't remember how well I went ... It's doable is all I'm saying.
"He's a mature player. He's a superstar. I'd be playing him anyway without a pre-season game because he's that good a player."
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