The Gold Coast Suns hope injury-stricken star Jaeger O'Meara will return to football within the next fortnight, but concede the decision of when to play ultimately rests with him.
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O'Meara has been training fully for two weeks now and the club was initially confident the midfielder would have played in the NEAFL last week, but it's believed O'Meara is being particularly conservative.
O'Meara could return to football as early as this week, which would give him a strong chance of playing a string of games at senior level at the back end of the season.
The West Australian hasn't played since the start of 2015, when he ruptured the patella tendon in his knee while playing in torrential rain in the NEAFL.
With nine weeks left in the season, the next two months represents a vital period for both O'Meara and the Suns.
With Victorian clubs circling the 22-year-old – whose two-year, $500,000-a-year contract extension expires at the end of the season – opposition recruiters will want to see if O'Meara's knee has properly healed.
The Suns are desperate to keep him, but they too will want reassurance that his knee has been fully rehabilitated before putting a contract offer in front of him.
Internally, the club believes O'Meara represents a more realistic chance of staying than Dion Prestia, who looks destined to leave at the end of the season.
Melbourne is believed to be leading the race to sign Prestia, closely followed by Richmond, while Carlton and Essendon are also believed to have expressed interest.
While several clubs have inquired about O'Meara to his management, no one has been willing to talk terms until they seem him play consistently over a three- or four-week period.
If he does play this week, it's believed O'Meara would play a half and then two full NEAFL games before putting his hand up for senior selection.
The midfielder has made it clear to his management that he doesn't want to have conversations with other clubs until he's back playing consistent football, particularly at senior level.
If he can do that, he would quickly become the hottest out-of-contract property in the AFL heading into the off-season.
O'Meara played 44 games in two full seasons before injuring his knee, averaging 22 disposals, four clearances and six tackles.
