COLLINGWOOD forward Anthony Rocca will play for the club's VFL side next weekend in a bid to get himself fit for the Magpies' split-round clash with the Sydney Swans at Stadium Australia.
Rocca, 31, has played just three games this season and has not been on the park since round seven owing to a recurring knee problem.
He said he was almost considered to face Melbourne on the Queen's Birthday, but it had been decided a VFL return against the Werribee Tigers next Saturday at Chirnside Park was a better option.
"It was a toss up whether to play this week but the coaching staff and medical staff just thought it was better to get one more solid week of training in," he told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Monday.
"I'll definitely play in the reserves next week because this will be the fourth week I haven't played, so I'll play for them and see whether it's good enough to play the following week in Sydney."
Rocca said he had taken inspiration from the way Collingwood backman Simon Prestigiacomo reinvented himself for this season after an injury-ravaged 2008.
"Presti has been excellent. He could have easily given the game away last year or the year before when he was frustrated with injury but, to his credit, he hanged tough," he said.
"He got fit again and now he's playing the best footy of his career.
"It is inspirational and I have to draw a bit of that from him at the moment."
Rocca said he was optimistic the Magpies were gearing up for a strong second half of the season, given the number of players that were set to build some form after battling injuries.
"It's a pretty good list. At the moment, a lot of the boys are coming back from injury and I really see a good second half to our season," he said.
"Hopefully the injuries are over and done with and we can propel ourselves from this game into the next half of the season, and this is a good stepping stone.
"We'll have a break next week and head to Sydney the week after. I'm really looking forward to it.
"The list is quite healthy; a lot of the young boys have a lot of pace and enthusiasm and we're really looking forward to the rest of the year."