Injured coaches Nathan Buckley and Brad Scott would be given permission to effectively 'coach from their couch' if they wanted to.

Scott will be laid up until round 15 after back surgery, while Buckley is expected to be OK for Monday's game against Melbourne despite tearing his hamstring off the bone.

Normally, communication from the change rooms and coaches boxes is heavily restricted under AFL integrity rules, which have recently been beefed up.

However, the League said it would allow the North Melbourne and Collingwood coaches to complete their match-day duties away from the ground, if required.

"Given the exceptional circumstances, we would allow them to be in contact with someone in the box," a League spokesman confirmed to AFL Media.

The League said the communication by phone would be restricted to a single person in the coaches box, but not players on the bench.

The AFL integrity department would have the ability to monitor phones to ensure everything was above board.

Scott had surgery on Wednesday, with a North spokesman telling AFL Media the operation had been a success.

Scott's back had been troubling him since the pre-season but he originally hoped he would be able to delay any surgery until October.

He will miss at least the Roos' next four games, against West Coast (Blundstone Arena), Sydney Swans (Etihad Stadium), Greater Western Sydney (Spotless Stadium) and, after their round 13 bye, Gold Coast (Metricon Stadium). 

"The last two weeks, in particular, have been a pretty slippery slope to the point where it's pretty debilitating and it makes it impossible to function. Pain's one thing, but function's another," Scott told the club's website earlier this week. 

"I'm really disappointed that I have to miss games. But as I said, we've explored every possible alternative to this, and we're at the point where there is just simply no other alternative."

Buckley tore his hamstring playing touch rugby.

If he's fit enough to be at the MCG for the Queen's Birthday blockbuster, he is expected to be on crutches. However, there's some doubt about whether he'll be able to get down to ground level to address the team at quarter and three-quarter time.

"He's a lot better already now he has had the surgery, (it is) a lot less painful," Magpies football boss Neil Balme said on Thursday.

"We're pretty confident he'll be right.

"For those who know him, he thinks he can get up and down the stairs."

Senior assistant coach Robert Harvey is on standby to take charge if Buckley suffers a setback.