COLLINGWOOD will be without Nathan Murphy for the final round of the home and away season, but the Magpies will regain Jordan De Goey and Bobby Hill for the clash against Essendon at the MCG.
Murphy copped two big knocks in last Friday night's loss to Brisbane at Marvel Stadium and finished the game off the ground due to corks in his back and glute.
The key defender trained with the main group at the AIA Centre on Wednesday but played with the reserves in match simulation, with the Magpies opting to take a conservative approach ahead of a finals series where Collingwood is guaranteed to play at least twice.
"Murph won't play," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said.
"We've been in the position where there is a risk (versus) reward attached to players and their fitness levels. This one is he is just not quite ready to play. He tried to get through, he has a hip pointer, it won't see him get up this week."
De Goey has been given the green light to face the Bombers on Friday night after missing last week due to a minor glute strain, while Hill was managed after experiencing some hamstring awareness at training last Wednesday.
"Like I said last week, there is some risk (versus) reward attached," McRae said. "There was an element of risk for both of those players. Jordy would have played if it was a Saturday game. He has trained well all week. Bobby is the same. We're excited to have those two guys back."
Ash Johnson left the track on Wednesday in the arms of two trainers after hurting his ankle but the club is confident the injury isn't serious.
South Australian Jakob Ryan won't be available for selection this weekend after his debut game ended before half-time when he suffered a concussion in a marking contest. The 2022 second-round pick didn't train on Wednesday.
Beau McCreery will also miss the game against Brad Scott's side – which still remains a mathematical chance of playing finals, but will need to make up a significant percentage gap and rely on other results – after copping a one-game ban for a dangerous tackle on Brisbane defender Darcy Wilmot.
Collingwood is still without captain Darcy Moore and Brownlow Medal contender Nick Daicos but both are making progress as they hunt returns early next month.
Moore will miss a second game due to the hamstring strain he sustained against Geelong in round 22, but the star defender increased his training load at the AIA Centre on Wednesday and could have been available next weekend if there wasn't a pre-finals bye.
Daicos is understood to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hairline fracture in his knee, starting work on the bike in the gym and in the pool this week as he aims towards a return in the finals series.
McRae joked that he had been paying extra attention to the second-year sensation but expects the 20-year-old to start running next week, with a return date to become clearer then.
"I've been massaging Nick's leg daily and going over at night and icing it and doing what I can," he quipped.
"He is progressing well. He is one of those players that we miss dearly. But he is on track to be available at some stage. There is some signs it is progressing more quickly but we don't know until he starts running and that timeline is next week."
Jeremy Howe is likely to return to a role in defence after playing as a permanent forward across the past fortnight against Geelong and Brisbane.
After being 16-2, Collingwood has dropped three of its past four games. The Magpies have been on top of the ladder for 16 of the past 17 weeks but could lose top spot on the final weekend of the home and away season if they fall to Essendon and Brisbane defeats St Kilda on Saturday.
