MIDFIELD powerhouse Cam Guthrie has escaped a lengthy period on the sidelines after injuring his shoulder against the Gold Coast last Saturday.

Guthrie is still in contention to face the Magpies this weekend.

“Cam suffered a mild AC joint sprain on the weekend. He came off the ground, was strapped up and was able to come back on and complete the game,” GM of Football Simon Lloyd says.

“He’s pulled up well, has good mobility and will be a test for this week.”

Silky midfielder Mitch Duncan will miss the clash after he was concussed in a tackle from the Suns’ Nick Holman.

“Mitch Duncan is going through all the concussion protocols, so he’ll be unavailable this weekend,” Lloyd says

“He’s doing well and hitting all of his markers.”

Second-year Cat Cooper Stephens has undergone surgery after his ankle injury didn’t progress as the club has hoped.

Geelong is confident Stephens’ high training standards and application will result in a strong recovery for the pick 16 in the 2019 national draft.

“Cooper Stephens’ ankle wasn’t progressing as we would have liked and the club sought a second medical opinion from a specialist,” Lloyd says.

“Collectively our medical team with Cooper have made the decision for him to have surgical intervention for his ankle, which occurred last weekend.

“Cooper is super professional and unfortunately hasn’t had a clear run at it, but he’ll be provided with strong support as he works through his rehabilitation.

“He’ll be out for an extended period of time.”

Hamstrung duo Mark O’Connor and Sam Simpson have both completed skills training as they close in on their football returns.

“Mark O’Connor completed a craft session on Tuesday and will complete main training later this week, which is really positive,” Lloyd says.

“He’ll look to ramp things up post bye.

“Sam Simpson has now returned to part-training and that will increase over the coming weeks.

“We’ll look to progress his loading and see how he copes with that loading. It’s positive signs.

“He’s continuing to work on his strength and stability to assist him going forward.”

Gryan Miers and Patrick Dangerfield continue to increase their loading as they recover from leg and ankle injuries.

Dangerfield is looking more and more like his former self, completing run throughs and non-contact skills work.

Jake Kolodjashnij, Luke Dahlhaus, Francis Evans and Nathan Kreuger have all pulled up well after they returned to play last weekend.

Cameron Taheny is a chance to play this week after he missed last Thursday’s VFL outing with an adductor injury.