Port Adelaide forward John Butcher in late Round 1 push John Butcher at Port Adelaide training. PORT Adelaide is poised to unleash the key forward it has banked its future on. Injury-plagued John Butcher - who is in danger of becoming Scott Gumbleton Mark II - has upped the ante at training and could make a surprise appearance in an internal trial game for the Port Magpies tomorrow night. Power coach Ken Hinkley has been so buoyed by Butcher's training in the past two weeks that he hasn't ruled him out of contention for the club's premiership season opener against Melbourne on March 31. "Butch is just about ready to play, which is a real positive for us," Hinkley said. We are really excited by the fact that he's been in a really strong conditioning phase for a couple of months now and we are getting to the point where we're ready to let him play. Butcher - Port's first pick at the 2009 national draft (No.8 overall) - has played only 12 games in three seasons and none since round 15 last year when he suffered a labral tear in his hip. The injury required surgery and had left him in the Power's rehabilitation group until last month. But the man who has spent more time on the sidelines than on the field in the past three years has made great progress in the past fortnight, leading to Hinkley's optimism that his spate of serious injuries are behind him. "Our conditioning people have been working on his body and he's in really good shape at the moment," Hinkley said of Butcher, who is sporting a new clean-shaven look after trimming his beard and long locks. We're really comfortable that he is over his troubles. Butcher's career has so far been devastated by injuries. Much like Essendon's injury-prone key forward Scott Gumbleton, Butcher has averaged just four games a season since being taken as a top-10 draft pick with massive expectations. The 21-year-old has played just 12 of a possible 66 games since arriving at Alberton, missing matches with back, ankle, hamstring and hip injuries. Hinkley understand his importance to Port, which has relied heavily on 27-year-old Jay Schulz to kick its goals. "As a key forward, he's very important to us," Hinkley said of Butcher. If he can come on and impact games like he has shown he can a couple of times then he would be vital to your success as a team. Butcher was in the wars again on the weekend when he had four stitches above his left eye after a training collision with teammate Robbie Gray. But Hinkley is confident he is not heading down the same long injury path as Gumbleton. "We won't know that for sure until he gets going and starts playing but we're really comfortable that he is in a good position now," he said. And if we can get him into a game this week and hopefully give him a game the following week then he will put himself around the mark for round one.