Patrick Dangerfield will push his case for an AFL return this week while his Geelong teammate Max Holmes undergoes ankle surgery.

Dangerfield has missed the past two rounds because of a corked calf but could return in Saturday’s clash with GWS at Manuka Oval.

The explosive midfielder-forward had a quadriceps injury earlier in the season, with the two issues combining to limit his ability to train until now.

“Pat has completed several solid conditioning sessions and his availability will be assessed later in the week,” Geelong head of medical and conditioning services Harry Taylor said.

No.1 ruckman Rhys Stanley (ankle) and midfielder Sam Menegola (knee soreness) are both chances to play against the Giants in Canberra.

Mengola had knee surgery in December and is yet to play a senior game this season.

Impressive 19-year-old Holmes suffered a syndesmosis injury during the Cats’ defeat to Fremantle in round seven.

“(Holmes) will have surgery on that which will rule him out for the short-to-medium term,” Taylor said. 

“Max has completed a large body of work and we expect him to begin his rehab program before resuming and having an influence in our AFL team.

“He’s having surgery (on Monday) afternoon and will begin his rehabilitation program from there.”

The Cats will be looking to bounce back after recent losses against the Hawks and Dockers, while the Giants played their best game of the season with a 59-point win over the Crows in Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Fremantle have confirmed spearhead Matt Taberner will miss up to four weeks with the hamstring injury that ruled him out of their Geelong clash.

Dockers captain Nat Fyfe (back) is hopeful of playing his first match of the year before the bye, while ruckman Sean Darcy (concussion) could return against North Melbourne on Friday night.

Young defenders Hayden Young and Heath Chapman have both exited COVID-19 protocols and could return for the round eight game at Optus Stadium.