GEELONG youngster Nakia Cockatoo has been ruled out of Thursday night's clash against Port Adelaide at Simonds Stadium with a hamstring injury.

Midfielder Cameron Guthrie is likely to return after being a late withdrawal ahead of Friday night's game against the Western Bulldogs because of a virus, while Cats coach Chris Scott said Rhys Stanley would also be available for the game against the Power after recovering from a knee injury.

Scott said Cockatoo could miss just one week with the hamstring injury he suffered in the first quarter of Friday night's game against the Western Bulldogs.

But with the exciting forward's injury at the minor end of the scale, the Cats are hopeful he may be ready to play against Adelaide on Friday fortnight.

"The early signs are that it's very minor and I wouldn't rule him out for the following week at this stage, which reflects how minor we think it is," Scott said.

"As I say over and over again in this forum, young players that we value really highly we don't take risks with."

Geelong has its bye following the clash against Adelaide on June 2, which may also factor into the club's thinking with Cockatoo's return date.

Small forward Darcy Lang and defender Tom Ruggles are both in the mix to return to the side alongside Guthrie after standout performances in the VFL.

Lang collected 25 disposals and kicked four goals against Footscray on Saturday, while Ruggles finished the day with a team-high 33 disposals to cap a stellar run of consecutive games at the lower level.

Cockatoo joins Brandan Parfitt (hamstring), Lincoln McCarthy (groin) and Cory Gregson (foot) on the sidelines, leaving the Cats with an obvious dearth of available small, pressure-style forwards.

Scott said the Cats may look to Joel Selwood and Patrick Dangerfield to spend more time forward against the Power.

"As you know we like Dangerfield and Selwood in our forward half at times," he said.

"It's not ideal, we'd like to have those guys available, but sometimes the need to be a little more creative can pay dividends as well."

Stanley may be available to play, but the Cats face a conundrum about whether they play the three big men in the same side, with Zac Smith dominant against the Bulldogs and Mark Blicavs' versatility considered an asset.

"It comes down to the right mix of the team when it comes down to Rhys and our bigger guys," Scott said.