CARLTON could be bolstered by the return of key midfielder Andrew Carrazzo for Friday night’s blockbuster against Hawthorn at Etihad Stadium.

The midfielder has missed a month of football with a calf strain, but is a chance to return for the Blues if he passes a fitness test on Thursday.

Carlton General Manager of Football, Andrew McKay says Carrazzo has been training for a week and is a chance to return.

“Andrew started training late last week and is certainly in the mix, but he's only a 40-60 chance to play,” he told the club’s website.

Carrazzo is Coach Mick Malthouse’s best and most effective defensive midfielder because of his ability to both shut down the opposition’s best midfielder and find the football himself to be an offensive weapon.

He was a late withdrawal from Carlton’s match against St Kilda in Round 6, in which his side was exposed for their lack of pace in a shock loss to the Saints on the fast Etihad track.

In his first five games, Carrazzo averaged 20 disposals and three tackles.

He is ranked equal fourth at the club for contested possessions and is one of Carlton’s best tacklers.

His importance to the side was best illustrated last year, when the Blues got off to a flying start with three straight wins to start the season.

Carrazzo was one of the Blues’ best in the opening three games, gathering 31, 31 and 29 disposals in each game.

He was then injured in the opening term of his team’s Round 4 loss to Essendon and missed the next seven matches.

In that time, the Blues won only three games.

Of the four losses, two of those came against struggling teams St Kilda and Port Adelaide by 24 and 54 respectively.