NORTH Melbourne coach Brad Scott is hopeful Daniel Wells will miss just one week with a calf strain, but the midfielder's hopes of returning for the finals continue to fade given it's almost certain he won't be able to play in the VFL upon his return. 

Scott also told reporters on Thursday that Lindsay Thomas would miss Friday night's clash against Richmond with the foot injury that ruled him out of last Saturday loss to the Western Bulldogs, but second-year defender Luke McDonald would return after one week out with general soreness.

Wells has not played a senior game since suffering an Achilles tendon injury in round two against the Brisbane Lions, but had played three consecutive games in the VFL before injuring his calf playing for North Ballarat against Coburg last Saturday.

North Ballarat's season finished last round when it failed to qualify for the finals, meaning Wells will now only be able to push for a senior recall through match practice.

Wells received permission to play for the development team of North's other VFL affiliate, Werribee, in his second game back because the Roosters had a bye.

But Werribee's development team did not make the finals and Wells would be highly unlikely to receive permission to play for its senior team if it wins its elimination final against Collingwood's VFL team on Saturday.

Despite the uphill battle Wells faces, Scott reiterated that North was not about to pull the pin on the veteran's 2015 season, saying the club would give him every chance of returning while its finals campaign was still alive.

The Roos coach was hopeful Thomas would return for North's first final. 

"We really want Lindsay to play this week, but he's required some significant treatment to get up for games up until this point and he hasn't trained well enough to get up to play Friday night, much to our disappointment," Scott said.

"We're hoping he'll be available for selection next week."