AFTER five months in limbo with a nagging back injury Adelaide onballer Nathan van Berlo is on the verge of making a comeback.

Van Berlo has not played football at any level since coming from the ground against Carlton in round 22 last season.

Rest alone failed to heal the stress fracture in the 23-year-old’s back, prompting him to go under the knife last month.

The minor procedure, which involved deadening nerves around the affected area, appears to have worked wonders for van Berlo.

The reliable onballer returned to training last week and on Tuesday completed his first full training session since suffering the injury.

The best-case scenario would see van Berlo line-up for the South Adelaide reserves this weekend.

Crows’ defender Ben Rutten said van Berlo was eager to make a return to the field after several frustrating months on the sidelines.

“It was good to see him out there. He’s been doing a heap of work behind the scenes on the bike, in the pool and running laps. It’s enjoyable for him to be able to come out and complete a whole main session for us,” Rutten said on Tuesday.

“He might have a bit of a run this week, but it’ll obviously depend on how he pulls up from today. I think he’s pretty keen to start getting back into things and I don’t think he’s restricted in any movement now, which is good.”

All-Australian Nathan Bock and ruckman Ivan Maric also completed Tuesday’s session after sitting out Saturday’s win over Melbourne.

But stars Bernie Vince and Andrew McLeod both failed to train and have been ruled out of this weekend’s clash with Carlton.

McLeod, 33, was sent for scans after experiencing back spasms early in the game against the Dees, but has been cleared of any bone damage.

Vince is likely to be one of a number of Crows to play in SANFL trials in the ‘gap’ weekend before the start of the home and away season.

Rutten said the selectors would be faced with a tough call ahead of round one over how many underdone players would take the field against Fremantle.

“It’s something we’re going to have to manage. It’s about getting guys like Nathan some game time and getting them back into the swing of main training sessions. You can’t have too many blokes playing at the one time who are too underdone.”
Adelaide will field just 22 players against the Blues at Visy Park on Friday with another two to act as substitutes.

The club toyed with the idea of playing 24 players last week, before deciding to go with the permitted 26.

Rutten said it was important to settle the side down approaching round one.

“There won’t be so many rotations this weekend, so it’ll give the guys a chance to get a bit more settled,” he said.

“In the backline it’s good not to have too many guys rotating through there so that you can get a good feel for who you’re playing with.”

The Crows are likely to start the home and away season without a permanent replacement for injured defender Andy Otten.

Youngsters James Sellar, Phil Davis, Will Young, Daniel Talia and rookie Ricky Henderson have all been given an opportunity over the summer, but veteran Scott Stevens looks poised to fill the role depending on match-ups.

Nathan van Berlo is a $343,100 midfielder in this year’s Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.

Ben Rutten is a $263,800 defender in this year’s Toyota AFL Dream Team competition.