The troubled forward checked into a health retreat last month.
Coach Luke Beveridge said last week the club was working on reintegrating Ugle-Hagan into the team, after conceding in March that he may not play at all this season.
โHeโs come back from a month of doing everything he can to sort of refocus and work out whatโs next in his life and the next steps, and the proposition of playing some football is there,โ Beveridge said last week.
Ugle-Hagan, who was the No.1 pick in the 2020 draft, is contracted until the end of next season, but speculation over his future at the club has been rife.
A playing return this season not only help the Bulldogs, particularly if he can join emerging star Sam Darcy inside attacking 50, but it would help his bid to seek a fresh start elsewhere, should he and his management pursue that option.
Ugle-Hagan booted 43 goals from 22 appearances in 2024, having delivered 35 goals in a breakout 2023 campaign. The Bulldogs thumped St Kilda by 72 points last Thursday, but they still sit outside the eight in ninth spot, a game behind Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast.
Key figure departs AFL headquarters
Sam McClure and Jon Pierik
The shake-up at AFL House continues, with football operations boss Josh Mahoney opting to leave his post.
A league source on Monday confirmed Mahoney, an experienced operator at club and league headquarters, had quit, coming after league chief Andrew Dillon last week appointed Greg Swann as football department chief.
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Mahoney, 47, has a long history in the game, having been a premiership player with Port Adelaide before becoming an assistant coach at Melbourne. He then shifted into the football department with the Demons and Essendon, before joining the AFL.
In February, Mahoney was named as the leagueโs new general manager of football performance.
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