Carlton might risk Michael Jamison in Friday night's AFL blockbuster against Hawthorn, but fear fellow key position player Jarrad Waite has suffered an injury setback.

With the finals only three weeks away, the Blues continue to sweat on the availability of two of their most important players.

Jamison impressed coach Brett Ratten at training on Tuesday morning and it is now a question of how well he recovers.

Waite pulled up sore from weekend training and the Blues are unsure whether that will push back his comeback.

A knee problem has sidelined Jamison since round 14 and the last time Waite (hip) played was in round 16.

If Carlton successfully gamble on their first-choice fullback, it would be a significant boost given they will come up against in-form Hawks key forward Lance Franklin.

Lachie Henderson is likely to start on Franklin on Friday night, but he will need plenty of support.

"I watched him train today and he did everything according to plan, I suppose it depends how he pulls up," Ratten said of Jamison.

"It's a risk that we'll have to take - when are we going to take it? Do we want to take it?

"I'd love to get him back in ASAP, it's a big game, we want to get him ready for finals."

Ratten was hoping that Waite might play again in the VFL the weekend after next, but now the key forward's status is unclear.

"He pulled up a little bit sore from the weekend, so he didn't do a lot today," the Blues coach said.

"We're not sure, it's been one of those things that we've monitored from session to session."

The Blues currently are fourth, half a game behind Hawthorn and half a game ahead of West Coast.

But Carlton have the bye after the Hawks clash, leaving the Eagles well-placed to move into the top four at their expense.

Carlton have lost their last five games against Hawthorn, but have not played them since round nine last season.

"It's one of those ones where one team will get a lot of confidence out of it," Ratten said.

"From there, do you face each other again in finals?

"This is just two hard teams who are going to have a real crack."

Ratten also made it clear that Hawthorn will have to worry about his best players just as much as the Blues will have to plan for the likes of Franklin and Cyril Rioli.

Asked how Carlton would plan for that pair, he bluntly replied: "Probably the way they'll plan for (Eddie) Betts, (Jeff) Garlett, (Andrew) Walker and those types - have some think time and go through that."

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