GEELONG remains undecided on whether talented youngster Daniel Menzel will make his long-awaited return to AFL action against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

However Cats coach Chris Scott is more confident than ever that Menzel will play his first senior game before the end of the season.

Menzel has played six consecutive VFL games without drama and has shown his class as he's slowly built match fitness, but the Cats are determined to err on the side of caution to give the 23-year-old every chance of successfully re-starting a long-term career.

"I've said for a couple of weeks that Dan is getting much closer. I'm very confident he will play AFL football before the end of the season, more confident of that than I have ever been. If it's not this week, it is still tracking along very well," Scott said. 

Scott said Menzel, who has had four knee reconstructions since his last game in the 2011 qualifying final, had ticked all the boxes to clear him for a return so it was now just a matter of planning for the right moment. 

"The risk for us is not a performance one. We're comfortable he is playing well enough," Scott said. 

"The part we're guarding against, and we could be accused of being too conservative, is his coming back to a level that he is not quite prepared for and getting injured again.

"We will be too cautious as opposed to the opposite."

Scott said even though they could design training programs to push him as hard as possible, replicating AFL intensity still remained virtually impossible.

"It comes down to gut feel and coaching intuition and the way he feels mentally about it all," Scott said. 

While not guaranteeing Menzel would make his senior return against Collingwood next Friday night, he said resting Menzel this week and then playing him against the Magpies was an option. 

Scott did say there was no chance Menzel would play in the VFL on Sunday and then front up in the AFL against Collingwood five days later.

While the venue was among the variables discussed when his return was considered, Scott said it wasn't a factor.

"The big picture for him is making sure his return to AFL football is successful and he can set himself up for a big year next year," Scott said. 

Scott said Mitch Duncan was still in some doubt to return against St Kilda after a calf injury forced him out against the Hawks. 

Veteran James Kelly remains a chance to play despite being subbed out last week with an ankle injury and Tom Lonergan is expected to return after missing round 20 through illness.