Brisbane coach Michael Voss says star midfielder Simon Black is almost ready for an AFL return and might even be unleashed in Sunday’s clash with premiers Sydney.

Voss says he will wait until after Thursday’s training session at the Gabba to make a call on selecting Black for his first senior game this season.

The 2002 Brownlow Medallist has impressed in two reserves games in his comeback from a knee injury and the Lions’ injury-hit midfield division is crying out for his class and experience.

But a cautious Voss is reluctant to rush the veteran back without enough match fitness under his belt.

“We’d like to see him complete a full (reserves) game but he hasn’t quite done that yet,” the coach said on Thursday morning.

“We know how important he is to us and we’d love to have him in our football team.

“It’s just that we’re committed to getting 15-16 quality football games out of him for the rest of the season so we just don’t want to pull the trigger on him too early.”

Black wants to line up against the Swans at the SCG, especially with Brisbane missing on-ballers Daniel Rich (shoulder), Jared Polec (ankle) and Claye Beams (knee).

“It would be a general lift for our midfield to have him back,” Voss said. “But this game is pretty brutal now and you have to make sure you are absolutely fit out there (across four quarters) – you can’t afford to carry players any more.

“If he is good, then so be it but, if not, we’ll unleash him next week.”