COLLINGWOOD has downplayed any injury concern over skipper Scott Pendlebury, with coach Nathan Buckley declaring him a certain starter for Friday night's clash against Richmond.

Pendlebury was spotted going in for a scan on Monday but Buckley was quick to allay any fears.

"He's good, just a bit of a grease and oil and we'll roll him out again," Buckley said on Tuesday.

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"For all the silkiness that he's renowned for, it's the underlying toughness that he brings to his footy and to the higher standards of expectations he places on himself and his teammates.

"He's one of many that, if you actually knew the duress that he has to go to get through a season, you'd get the understanding that the guns in the competition earn their cash."

Buckley is expecting a fired-up Tigers side after their 88-point loss to Greater Western Sydney triggered widespread criticism and increased the scrutiny on coach Damien Hardwick.

"We haven't got our heads in the sand. Whether it's in the papers, online or on the TV we know there's a fair bit of focus on Richmond at the moment," Buckley said.

"Internally, we'll be looking at how we go about our footy.

"We believe we've been more consistent and whilst we enjoyed the performance we put out there on the weekend, and there were large positives to come out of it, we need to prove that we're a hardened side that can roll that out against any opposition consistently." 

Darcy Moore (hamstring) and Alex Fasolo (shoulder) will need to get through training this week to prove their fitness for the clash against the Tigers.

Match preview: Richmond v Collingwood

Fasolo had his left shoulder heavily strapped at training on Tuesday while Moore appeared on the track in runners, and appears in significant doubt.

"We won't take any undue risk – first and foremost you pick players that have got the capacity to get through four quarters of hard football," Buckley said of Moore.

"'Fas' has got both of his hands firmly straight up in the air and wants to play so we'll see how he goes through training," Buckley said.

Ben Sinclair (concussion) will be given another week to ensure he is over his latest knock, while Tim Broomhead's shoulder has flared up again and Buckley said a decision on his season was imminent.