Marc Murphy eyes AFL return in round 20

Marc Murphy has been repeatedly held back from making his AFL return but the Carlton skipper is eyeing off the round 20 clash with St Kilda.

Injured Carlton captain Marc Murphy is eyeing off a round 20 AFL return against St Kilda. (AAP)

Injured Carlton captain Marc Murphy is eyeing a return to AFL in round 20, when the Blues take on St Kilda.

The skipper strained ligaments in his right ankle in the Blues' round-10 win over Geelong but initially hoped he'd only miss a few weeks.

"Over the last four or five weeks people have been calling me `Mark three weeks away Murphy'," he told RSN radio on Wednesday.

"I've started to run now and [am] stepping that up. It depends how I go over the next week or two, how I pull up and how I get through ball training."

Returning for the round 19-clash against Hawthorn would be a big ask but Murphy hopes to be right for the St Kilda game on August 7.