North Melbourne will give highly rated youngsters Jack Ziebell and Liam Anthony their AFL debuts this weekend, but the news was bleak for another promising Kangaroo.

Defender Jesse Smith is set to be sidelined for up to two months following another injury setback.

Smith has again injured his troublesome hamstring - a problem which combined with a degenerative ankle condition has restricted him to just two games last year and just 27 matches in his four seasons.

Hopes were high for the 22-year-old after a solid pre-season, but he suffered a recurrence of the problem in North's practice match a fortnight ago.

Club doctor Con Mitropoulos was confident Smith would be able to play AFL in the second half of the season once the hamstring healed, and as long as the ankle injury was managed effectively.

But he admitted the player was likely to be affected throughout his career by the ankle problem, and in later life.

"Some things aren't fixable, but the history of our game shows there has been a many a player with sore joints who's been able to get out and play," Mitropoulos said.

"The ankle is something he's had to put up with for a long time so he obviously has changed his running technique.

"He runs with a bit of a limp, so when you have to protect a sore ankle for a long period of time you can put other soft tissues at risk and particularly the hamstring on that side.

"At a guess, (he'll be sidelined for) the next month or two."

Smith's pain will be doubled after North signalled they would give youth every chance this season.

Coach Dean Laidley confirmed on Thursday Ziebell and Anthony, who have been pre-season standouts for the Kangaroos, would be selected in North's final 22 for the season opener against Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

Midfielder Anthony, 21, and midfielder/forward Ziebell, 18, were snared in last year's draft.

Ziebell was a first-round draft pick, while West Australian Anthony was selected at No.43.

Laidley said both deserved their call-ups and he had decided to tell them both early so they could prepare properly for their big days.

But as the Roos attempt to replace around 1,000 games' experience in the retired Nathan Thompson, Shannon Grant and Jess Sinclair, Laidley hinted there could be other youngsters blooded.

"There's still an opportunity for one or two more, and there's be other new faces in the 25 then we'll weigh that up after training on Saturday," Laidley said.

"We've lost over 1,000 games of experience and we've replaced them with young guys.

"The improvement's going to come from our young guys and it's an exciting time for our football club."

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