COACH Paul Roos says “it’d be tough” for Jesse Hogan to play the final two rounds of the AFL season.

Hogan, who will play his first match since Melbourne’s NAB Challenge loss against Geelong in Alice Springs in February, will line-up for Casey against Footscray at Craigieburn on Sunday at 11am.

“We want to make sure guys who are playing have been in good form,” he said on Roos’ Views. 

“If he plays really, really well this week – then next week, he might be a slight chance.

“But at this stage, it’s not [about] putting any pressure on the kid. It’s about getting back and enjoying his football and I’m sure he’s loving being back out there and he’ll enjoy it on the weekend.”

Roos said there were no expectations placed on Hogan at this stage and simply playing again was the aim.

“We haven’t put a lot of pressure on him,” he said.

“He’s back and been training now for about three or four weeks and it was really up to him just to say how he was feeling.

“I spoke to him after training today (Friday) and he said he had been feeling really well.

“He’s training really well and I think it’s important that he gets back and plays. It’s only three games to go now up until the end of the season, but he’s feeling good about himself and he’s a competitor and I’m sure he’s looking forward to getting out there and running around.”