COLLINGWOOD veteran Tom Mitchell has overcome the lingering foot issue that ruined his 2024 campaign and is set to transition back into full training in the coming weeks after reporting back for pre-season early.
The 31-year-old managed just six appearances in his second season since crossing from Hawthorn and didn't feature again after being substituted out of the draw on Anzac Day due to the plantar fascia issue.
Mitchell underwent surgery on his foot at the start of June and was aiming to play a role in a September push before further soreness ended his campaign by August.
Along with key forward Brody Mihocek, who missed the end of last season due to a ruptured pectoral tendon, Mitchell has been training with Collingwood's first-to-fourth-year players since they returned to training last Monday.
The 2018 Brownlow medallist has been completing most of training at the AIA Centre and will increase his load this side of Christmas ahead of a contract season in 2025.
Mitchell finished fourth in the Copeland Trophy when the Magpies won the premiership in 2023, playing a crucial role at the coalface in Craig McRae's engine room across 26 appearances after a deadline-day move from the Hawks.
But with dual All-Australian half-back Dan Houston arriving from Port Adelaide and versatile free agent signing Harry Perryman joining the club from Greater Western Sydney, there will be a selection squeeze through the midfield and across half-back next season.
Former first-round pick Ed Allan put his hand up for more opportunity by starring in his second game in the final round of 2024, before finishing fourth in the VFL best and fairest.
Fin Macrae – another recent first-round selection – took a step forward this year by adding nine appearances to his name, after playing once in 2023 and twice in McRae's first season at the helm.
Mitchell is determined to earn another contract to play on beyond 2025, after completing a methodical rehabilitation and conditioning program across the past couple of months to not only get back on the park, but stay there.
The two-time All-Australian endured a nightmare 2024 – he also had his appendix removed at the start of August after being hospitalised in May with appendicitis – but has recovered from worse injuries in the past, returning from a broken leg to win his third Peter Crimmins Medal in 2021.
Mihocek has fully recovered from the torn pec that ended his campaign in round 17 and been training with new teammate Tim Membrey in attack, alongside Dan McStay and Mason Cox, with senior assistant coach Hayden Skipworth running the program.
Jordan De Goey is the other Collingwood star who was plagued by injuries this year, playing 13 of a possible 23 games due to groin and abdominal issues before suffering a high-grade hamstring tear with tendon damage in August.
The 28-year-old has spent part of this month in Qatar with Magpies' high performance boss Jarrod Wade, completing a 10-day training block at internationally renowned sports medicine practice Aspetar in a bid to overcome the soft tissue headaches that ruined his year.
De Goey will commence pre-season training when the main group is mandated to return on November 25. Most senior players have already started training, including Pat Lipinski and Isaac Quaynor who have just returned from the United States.
