North Melbourne cult figure Nathan Grima has delayed a season-ending foot operation because his team are suddenly back in AFL finals contention.
Essendon’s unprecedented expulsion from the top eight on Tuesday night over their supplements scandal means the door to September is now open again for the `Roos.
They will play in the finals if they upset Collingwood on Sunday, provided Carlton and Brisbane also lose.
Grima was scheduled for surgery on Monday to have a bone fragment removed from his foot.
The key defender missed last week’s loss to Hawthorn with the foot injury and might make a surprise return against the `Pies.
“It’s not out of the realms of possibility that Nathan Grima still may play this week,” acting captain Drew Petrie told the AFL website.
“I spoke to Nathan earlier in the week and he said that he wasn’t going to get operated (on), given what’s happened in the last couple of days with the Essendon stuff.
“I doubt he’ll play, but they’re not going to operate because once he’s operated (on) he’s gone for however long his recovery period is.”
If they make the finals, North could also regain their No.1 defender Scott Thompson, whose season was originally ruled to be over because of a bruised lung.
Thompson will definitely miss the Collingwood game and he would need medical clearance if they made an elimination final.