HE IS in his hospital bed with internal bleeding from his kidneys, but Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell can still appreciate the art of tough football and has applauded Andrew Embley's bump that will hospitalise him for a week.
The collision occurred during the Magpies' NAB Cup semi-final win over West Coast on Saturday night and later Maxwell used Twitter to approve the bump.
"Just saw Embley's bump - what a ripper! Perfect execution. Good 2 C the bump is still alive (just no fun on the receiving end - ha ha). That's footy!
"No idea on weeks... A week in hospital at this stage, but reassessing everyday. Improving all the time - hopefully out a lot sooner!"
Maxwell will miss Collingwood's clash with Essendon in the NAB Cup Grand Final at Etihad Stadium on Friday night and he is also in doubt for round one.
Collingwood rookie Tom Hunter, who suffered a neck injury, was also left in hospital after being collected by young Eagles midfielder Luke Shuey.
Collingwood said both players would remain under observation in Perth with the club unsure when they would return to Melbourne.
"Maxwell has some internal bleeding from his kidneys and will remain in hospital for observation. His condition will be monitored in coming days but at this stage his recovery time and return to Melbourne are not confirmed," the club said in a media statement on Sunday.
"Hunter suffered trauma to his neck region and will also remain in hospital in Perth under observation."
West Coast was also hit hard by injury with ruck prodigy Nic Naitanui and key defender Mitch Brown both suffering partial shoulder dislocations, while midfielder Matt Rosa was a late withdrawal with hamstring tightness.
Naitanui and Brown will miss West Coast's NAB Challenge clash with Fremantle this Saturday.