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TOM Lonergan will complete his courageous comeback when he runs out with Geelong's VFL team on Sunday.

The 23-year-old was yesterday given the final all-clear from Cats' medicos after a life-threatening injury late last season.

Lonergan was playing just his seventh senior game against Melbourne in round 21 when he backed into a pack, resulting in internal bleeding and the eventual removal of a kidney.

He spent five days in an induced coma and lost 16kg, before making the decision to play on. He was delisted by the club at the end of last season but re-drafted as a rookie.

Coach Mark Thompson yesterday paid tribute to Lonergan's courage, saying it would provide extra motivation to his teammates this weekend.

``Everyone's very proud of what he's done and they're really happy to have him around here,'' he said.

``They think it's a gutsy effort to want to play and to force his way back to the level of fitness to be able to take the field this week. It is a sensational effort.

``I'm not sure once the game starts whether it'll have much effect but I think in the lead-up (it will).''

Thompson said he did not have  an opinion one way or the other whether Lonergan would make it back, but said the defender  had a lot of family and friends rally around him since the incident.

He said everyone around Lonergan just wanted to give him space to make up his own mind as to whether he returned.

``I think that's the club's stance too. We drafted him and he was playing sensational footy in the AFL _ probably his best game he'd played to that stage _ and unfortunately he sacrificed one of his kidneys and we had a responsibility, football had a responsibility to let him make his own choices,'' Thompson said.

``I didn't have an opinion, I just said that we would give him every opportunity for him to do whatever he wanted and back him whichever way he went and he's decided to play.

``I think the doctors and Tom have agreed that he's ready to go, he wants to play. It's his decision, we haven't pushed him at all, we've waited and the time's right, he's ready to play.

``He's confident about playing and he wants to play. It's a big step, it's going to be a pretty big day. I'm sure he'd be nervous.''

Thompson said the whole incident had been a life-changing event for Lonergan, who is now involved in charity work, promoting organ donation.

``He's decided to do a few things off the field and I just think it's been a life-changing event for him but, in so many ways, he's done really well out of it _ he's back playing now and I know he's got more direction in his personal life,'' he said.

The VFL game, at 9.50am, will be played as a curtain-raiser to the Cats' senior game against the Brisbane Lions on Sunday.