COLLINGWOOD forward Jordan De Goey is in "a good head space" and preparing for a return to the Magpies' line-up following his indecent assault charge.

De Goey was charged by Victoria Police following Collingwood's loss to Essendon in round five for an incident that occurred in 2015, his first year as a Magpie.

He missed the Magpies' subsequent clash with Hawthorn last week in Sydney and instead flew direct to Perth with a group of teammates, including suspended Pie Steele Sidebottom, after clearing further COVID-19 tests.

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said the 24-year-old was available for selection to face Geelong at Optus Stadium on Thursday night.

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"He trained today and he's fit and available for selection so we'll complete that this afternoon," Buckley said on Tuesday.

"Physically he's in great shape and mentally and emotionally he seems good. To be back in amongst the group I think has been good for both he and Steele (Sidebottom) and Ben Reid who was over here earlier, and a handful of our staff of course as well."

With rain forecast for Thursday in Perth, the Pies could look to bring De Goey in for the injured Will Kelly, who injured his elbow in his debut last week. Buckley said De Goey is ready to get back on the field. 

"He's in a good head space," Buckley said.

While the Pies are set to welcome back Josh Daicos from an ankle tweak he suffered at training last week, Mason Cox's place is less assured in Collingwood's front half with Darcy Cameron and Reid also in consideration.

Cox has averaged six disposals and one goal in his four games this season.

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Buckley admitted Cox's impact on games has not been to the level the Pies are expecting.

"Mason's performances have been under par and he's aware of that. So satisfied is probably not what I would describe of his performances, either from our perspective or from his, " Buckley said.

"He is a whipping boy. There's a massive expectation of what he's going to bring to the table. There's a lot of conversation around weather conditions and game conditions and whether it's conducive to his strengths shining.

"We have played a lot of night games and he has played in inclement games in the last couple of weeks. The role he plays does straighten us up and give us an aerial target towards our goal and I think his competitiveness has been OK.

"But clearly he and we would like to see more from him and he has a greater capacity from what we've seen displayed in the last couple of weeks."

Sidebottom is still to serve half of his four-game suspension for breaking the AFL's COVID-19 protocols, but Buckley said the Pies hadn't considered stripping the premiership midfielder of the club's vice-captaincy.

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"No, that was all external commentary. It wasn't a consideration internally at any point once we were aware of the details of his indiscretions," Buckley said.

As the AFL prepares to condense its fixture and potentially cram in an extra round over the next five weeks, Buckley joined Richmond counterpart Damien Hardwick in suggesting the interchange bench should be extended. The champion Magpie suggested an extra two players to added to each side during the upcoming period.