JAMES Aish is the latest Magpie to be cut down with a pre-season training injury, with the promising Collingwood wingman suffering a mild calf strain at the club on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old did not make the trip to Canberra despite being named in Thursday night's JLT Community Series squad, with the club opting to take a cautious approach with his recovery.
However, the Pies remain confident the injury is minor and will allow Aish to face the Western Bulldogs in their second pre-season game on March 10.
It's the first hiccup this pre-season for Aish, who had put together a flawless summer ahead of the final year of his current contract.
He performed well in both the club's AFLX tournament last month and last week's intraclub match, predominantly playing on the wing.
Aish's ailment, while not serious, is the latest in a long string of pre-season injuries to hit Collingwood.
The Pies travelled to Canberra for the clash with Greater Western Sydney minus a host of players including midfielder Adam Treloar, who was rested from the game to recover from a heavy knock suffered in the intraclub.
Defenders Jeremy Howe (calf) and Darcy Moore (achilles) have been on reduced loads this year, but have been slated to play in Friday night's VFL squad intraclub at Olympic Park.
Suspended midfielder Jordan De Goey is also expected to line up in the internal hit-out.
Jamie Elliott (ankle) and Alex Fasolo (shoulder) remain hopeful of lining up in the Pies' clash with the Dogs, but Levi Greenwood (knee) and Daniel Wells (Achilles) are unlikely starters.
Greenwood has all but been ruled out of the pre-season games as the recovery from his December knee surgery takes longer than expected.
The 29-year-old has been absent from the training track in recent weeks after the operation to address a medial ligament complaint.
It was hoped when he went under the knife the week before Christmas he would be back training by late January.
Meanwhile, Wells is expected to gather fitness in VFL practice matches as he works his way back.
The 33-year-old is believed to be at least a week away from ramping up his program again, which means he's likely to fall short of the clash with the Dogs.
Along with their intraclub this Friday, the Pies' VFL squad has been scheduled to play Richmond (March 8), Coburg (March 16), Box Hill (March 23) and North Melbourne (March 31) in practice matches this month.