Carlton will welcome Elijah Hollands back to club’s AFL program this week but they are bracing to receive bad news when youngster Harry O’Farrell undergoes scans on his injured left knee.

O’Farrell suffered a suspected ACL tear after landing awkwardly from a marking contest in Sunday’s 27-point loss to Fremantle.

The No.40 pick from last year’s national draft had made huge progress at the Blues this season, and coach Michael Voss said he was shattered to see the 19-year-old cut down in just his sixth game.

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The injury came just minutes after O’Farrell had kicked his maiden AFL goal.

“The highs and lows of football, it’s got a great way of being able to lift you up, and it’s got a very nasty way of being able to bring you down as well,” Voss said.

“But that sort of resilience and grit over time. you learn through your career. Sometimes you get things when you don’t want it to show up, and they show up, and this is what might have shown up for him.

“We’ll support him. We’ll wrap our arms around him. He’s not a massive man yet, but his ability to be able to read the game — he’s just a natural footballer.

“The players just love playing with him, because he’s super reliable.”

Hollands took leave in March for a personal matter, then returned for a block of five matches before taking another period of indefinite leave in May.

The 23-year-old former Sun will return to the AFL program this week with the view of playing in the VFL.

“He’ll come back into the club this week,” Voss said.

“He’s been hovering around the VFL, doing a bit of that. He’ll be back this week and playing VFL football this week.”

When asked if Hollands could make it back to AFL level before the season ended, Voss replied: “Possibly, but we’ve only got three games left.

“He’ll come back and play some VFL football. He’s been training pretty hard, so he’ll be ready to go.”

Carlton (7-13) will be back in action on action on Saturday night against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium, before rounding out their season with matches against Port Adelaide (home) and Essendon.