But Blues coach Brett Ratten was guarded over whether versatile big man Jarrad Waite would join Bower in the final 22.
"Bower could have nearly played last week so he will probably come straight back in and then Waitey will be the next one we'll look at," Ratten said from Visy Park on Thursday
Ratten said the absence of Walker, who broke his collarbone in last weekend's upset of Geelong, would leave a massive hole in the Blues' defence due to his recent good form.
"Andrew Walker has probably been the one who has jumped out and that's taken the game by the scruff of the neck," he said.
"He's the best runner at our football club and he can run all day … He'd be close to the best 100-metre runner here.
"He can just run - that's his ability. When he does that and he gets to play on his terms a little bit, he's a fantastic player for us."
And Ratten said his revamped forward line, highlighted by the efforts of indigenous trio Jeff Garlett, Eddie Betts and Chris Yarran against the Cats, had created an x-factor for the opposition.
"It'll be really interesting to see how they function and how they can create their opportunities," he said.
"With Garlett really jumping up and marking the football as well, it gives the other teams some headaches as well."
Ratten also said skipper Chris Judd was close to being at the top of his game after missing the first three rounds of 2010 due to suspension.
"I thought his performance in the first half against Geelong really set the game up," he said.
"The damage that he did in the first half actually created that five to six goal break - that was the difference in the game."
Reflecting on Carlton's up-and-down start to the season - highlighted by a disappointing loss to Essendon and a brilliant win over Geelong - Ratten said it was simply due to a tight competition.
"To me, when does the breather come? I think every week is as hard as anything," he said.
"When you lose, you analyse to the nth degree and think 'did I walk in the right door, have the right undies on, wake up on the right side and did I drive to work the right way?' You do look at everything."
Including, said the coach, the way he was delivering his own message to the players.
"I like variation myself as a person. You have structure, but it's great to know that not everything is blocked out for 12 months and you become mundane and boring.
"Whether you just change things up a bit - I look at that as well, to make sure I don't give the same speech week-in-week-out.
"We talk about cooking sausages, but you can do it a different way, can't you?"
