The troublesome hamstrings of Richmond onballer Mark Coughlan have meant another delay to his long-awaited AFL comeback.

Coughlan is trying to return from two knee reconstructions, but hamstring tightness has ruled him out of a return this weekend through VFL affiliates Coburg.

The midfielder's ongoing hamstring problem flared again at training on Wednesday night and the Tigers will put him through more tests before they set a return date.

"He was hoping himself he'd be right to go this week, he was really close last week," said Tigers football manager Paul Armstrong.

"He trained last night with Coburg and just felt tightness again, so he's not quite right - that's why we haven't put a timeframe on it as to when he might come back.

"Obviously he wants that to be sooner, (rather) than later, but because he's missed so much football, we want to make sure he's absolutely right."

Coughlan suffered his first knee injury in round 12, 2006 and needed a second reconstruction during the 2007 pre-season.

He played in Richmond's final pre-season trial game against Geelong last month, but hamstring tightness then stalled his comeback.

The club said in a statement that Coughlan was having "ongoing issues" with his hamstrings for the last three weeks.

"Given the vulnerability to hamstring injuries following ACL reconstructions, and ongoing soreness in his hamstring, we will be taking a conservative approach until we are satisfied Mark will cope with the demands of game day," the club said.

"Further tests are being performed before a return to play date is set."

Coughlan, who turns 26 this Sunday, has played 83 games for Richmond since his 2001 AFL debut and won their 2003 best-and-fairest award.

Armstrong stressed that the hamstring problem was the only barrier to Coughlan's return.

"It's very frustrating for Mark ... he was eager to get back as soon as possible, but as we've said to him, there's no point coming back too soon and risk breaking down," he said.

"He's always been a super-fit player and he looks after himself really well, the rest of his body is fine.

"It's a minor irritation that flared up again last night, they're now looking at the best way to manage it over the next period of time."

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