Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has all but confirmed star midfielder Caleb Serong will return for their blockbuster clash with Geelong on Thursday night.

The vice-captain has missed the Dockers’ last three victories of a 12-game winning streak with a calf injury suffered in the lead-up to their game against St Kilda last month.

While he was pushing for a recall to the side ahead of their game against North Melbourne in Bunbury, the club opted to leave him on the sidelines for their eventual 124-point thrashing of the Kangaroos, which preceded their mid-season bye.

Ahead of training on Monday morning, Longmuir said the expectation Serong would be available to take on the Cats had not changed.

“He’s one of our better players, clearly. We’ve had the luxury of giving him an extra week off to make sure we get him right for the back half of the year,” Longmuir said.

“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t get through training and is not ready to play.

“It’s a bit of a luxury to get him back.”

Longmuir was less definitive on the status of Serong’s fellow midfielder Matthew Johnson and defender Brennan Cox, saying how they performed at and pulled up from the session would be important.

“We’ll get through training, see where everyone sits. There’s still a few boxes for players to tick,” he said.

“We’re expecting a couple back, but the lengths we’ll go to, we’ll work out.”

Sean Darcy is also pushing for a return to the senior side after returning from his own calf issue with a strong pair of performances for Peel Thunder in the WAFL before the club’s weekend off.

Longmuir said the ruckman’s training loads over the bye had been “slightly different” to much of his teammates.

“It was more about giving him a bit of a rest as well,” Longmuir said.

“He’s done a lot of work in rehab and obviously two games back at WAFL level.

“He’s in good form at WAFL. We’ll sit down after training and have a chat about if he comes in or if he keeps building his form.”