North Launceston's Jay Lockhart all clear to play.

Knee and soft tissue injuries have kept him out of many matches, including North Launceston’s 2015 grand final victory, but he is confident the lastest setback has made him a better player.

Lockhart, 21, has missed seven matches – or 11 weeks – this season since tearing the meniscus in his left knee in an incident involving Launceston coach Sam Lonergan at UTAS Stadium in June.

The builder and reigning Lefory Medallist was only expected to miss a month but during that time there were a few minor setbacks. 

“I played all last year without injury after being injured in the previous years nearly all the time, so I thought halfway through this year I was laughing again,” the former Lilydale District High and Launceston College student said.

“The knee healed pretty well it was just my scar tissue that was getting caught in my knee joint and scans revealed that when I was getting a bit worried it was still my meniscus causing me pain.

“I was pretty relieved and it’s all good now – I can’t wait to play.”

Lockhart said his recovery involved a couple of weeks rest and slowly ramping up his track work before being given the green light by a Hobart sports doctor to return to full training three weeks ago.

Northern Bombers coach Tom Couch confirmed on Wednesday that his star half-back flanker would make his long-awaited return in the club’s home second semi-final against Lauderdale on Saturday.

“I’m starting to get my fitness back, I feel confident and I haven’t lost too much touch which has been good," Lockhart said.

The former vice-captain and North skipper Taylor Whitford spent a majority of the home and away season’s second half in the coaches box, which Lockhart said would only serve him well into the future.

“I’ve been working with our defensive coach Paul Holmes and down on the bench as well having my input and learning off those guys for the future,” he said.

“It’s good to see the game from a different prospective… I’ve been working with the backs a lot and they’ve got trust in me, from what I’ve seen, to mention a few things to them.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to be a little bit more of a coach out on the field.

“I see the game pretty well and I’ve always been a vocal kind of a leader, but having some extra knowledge, I should be able to bring a bit more out onto the ground.”

Saturday’s clash of the Bombers at UTAS Stadium is at 4.30pm after the development league curtain-raiser.