PORT ADELAIDE defender Ryan Burton is pushing for an AFL recall against Greater Western Sydney this week, just three weeks after knee surgery.

He narrowly missed selection last week after Port's high performance team decided he was not quite ready to resume despite training strongly.

It meant Port went into an AFL game with an unchanged line-up for the first time in the 2020 season.

While there were no injuries reported out of the loss to Brisbane in Round 5, selectors will still be tempted to make change to get the side back on the winners’ list.

Burton has been described by coach Ken Hinkley and assistant coach Jarrad Schofield as being in Port’s best 22 so perhaps has the strongest case to resume, but the 23-year-old will need to prove his fitness at training on Thursday.

Midfielders Sam Mayes and Cam Sutcliffe, defender Jarrod Lienert and ruckman Pete Ladhams have all been pushing hard at training and in practice games to break into the side.

With only Xavier Duursma and Willem Drew on the injured list, Port Adelaide’s selectors have a near-full strength list to choose from and defender Jack Watts and forward Mitch Georgiades would also be high on the list of potential replacements.

Port Adelaide will on Thursday evening name a 26-man squad to tackle the Giants at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast on Sunday.

The squad will be trimmed to 22 on Friday afternoon.