Jarrod Berry, Jack Payne and Cam Ellis-Yolmen will all push for a return to action this week but the Lions will be without two defenders for extended periods. 

Ryan Lester is set to miss up to a month with a hamstring injury.

The veteran was subbed out of the game in the Lions’ Round 12 loss to Melbourne at Giants Stadium in Western Sydney.

It was his first game back from a previous hamstring issue and High Performance manager Damien Austin said given there had been a recurrence, it was time for a more conservative rehabilitation program.

He joins Darcy Gardiner from the 2020 finals side on the sidelines.

Fellow defender Noah Answerth also faces a stint on the sidelines and will consult a surgeon this week due to ongoing groin soreness.

Answerth played his first game in over two months in a reserves practice match in Round 11 but pulled-up sore and was unable to back-up the following week.

“We haven’t been able to get on top of this issue so we’ll get a surgeon’s opinion this week,’’ Austin said.

“He won’t be back in action for some time.’’

Ellis-Yolmen, who has yet to play a senior game this year, is overcoming an Achilles injury and will be up for selection Saturday if he can pass a fitness test on Thursday.

Berry has not played since injuring his groin in the Round 5 victory over Essendon but will also be available if he gets through the week’s two main sessions unscathed.

Payne suffered a stress fracture following the Round 3 victory over Collingwood. He has also completed a solid running block and only has the final box to tick at training to make his return. 

For the full injury list, head here