CARLTON will give star midfielder Adam Cerra another week to recover from his ongoing hamstring injury, as the Blues manage the workload of multiple returning players following an extended 17-day break.

Michael Voss is set to balance a unique fixture situation across the next fortnight, with Carlton set to play its first game in 17 days when it faces Melbourne on Sunday before a speedy five-day turnaround ahead of Good Friday.

Cerra is set to be one casualty of the fixture crunch following the extended layoff, having also been unable to return at VFL level last weekend due to the Blues' reserves side having a bye as well.

The midfielder has been sidelined since injuring his problematic hamstring again in a pre-season scratch match against Brisbane on February 18, but now looks set to eventually return against North Melbourne in round four.

"No, he won't [play this week]," Voss said on Thursday.

"We've taken a bit of a conservative approach to that. It's more just giving him the extra week. He's certainly got the work under his belt. You'll see him training out here. He'll be fine, he's been training for a few sessions now.

"But, with a five-day turnaround, we feel like that might be a bit too tight. So, we'll give him an extra week. I think that's a good approach to take."

Nic Newman, like Cerra, is another expected to be a victim of Carlton having a bye at both AFL and VFL level last weekend, as the defender sets his eyes on a long-awaited comeback.

Newman hasn't played for the Blues since September 2024, having ruptured his patella 15 months ago and having missed the start of this season after earning a two-match suspension for an incident in a VFL practice match.

Adam Saad (hamstring) is available, though, while last year's No.45 pick Talor Byrne is seen as a chance to potentially make his AFL debut against Melbourne after an impressive pre-season.

"[Newman] hasn't got a body of work under his belt yet," Voss said.

"There's a couple of guys like that, who are returning but not necessarily available. He's certainly available to play, but if you're talking about match fitness and time out on the grass, he had an unfortunate suspension. That took his minutes out on the grass away.

"But they're coming quick. It is certainly nice to know that you've got really strong availability. With that availability, we obviously want to get the consistency. There's got to be competition for spots as well. That can really drive us to be better."

Carlton is 1-1 on the season following its thrilling round one victory over Richmond, with Voss urging his Blues players to be braver after surviving another second-half fadeout against the Tigers a fortnight ago.

Carlton led Richmond by 27 points at half-time in round one, before kicking only one goal for the entire second half to eventually cling to a four-point win. It had followed an Opening Round performance where Voss' side led Sydney by 10 points at the main break, only to concede 12 goals in the third quarter.

"Bravery and stupidity are very, very close sometimes," Voss laughed.

"I can speak to that, because I've been both.

"There's always an element of the players still being able to play the same way, no matter the circumstances. We'll continue to encourage that.

"We've seen some amazing transfer, we really have. We're really excited by some of the things we have been able to do. But it's obvious for everyone we haven't done it for long enough. We'll continue to reinforce the behaviours that we need, even when the pressure is really on."