COLLINGWOOD has left the door open for Paul Medhurst to return to the line-up against the Sydney Swans on Saturday night.

The important forward hasn't played since round six when he suffered an ankle injury in the win over North Melbourne.

Despite getting a VFL game under his belt last week, Medhurst was only named as an emergency for the clash at ANZ Stadium, but Josh Fraser admitted the expected wet conditions could cause a late rethink. 

"He's in the mix. He's named as an emergency, but at this stage we've named an unchanged line-up," Fraser said before the team's final training session at Gosch's Paddock on Friday.

"If he gets through training today, [because] it's been raining up there, there might be a late change, but at the moment we're going in as named."

Medhurst is not the only emergency who might get a late call-up with doubt continuing to surround the fitness of Nathan Brown who has been carrying a knee injury.

Tyson Goldsack and Cameron Wood are the other two emergency-listed players, but Fraser maintained the mid-season break had done wonders for the health of the group. 

"The boys are pretty fresh and anyone who was carrying any injuries or niggles would have been given plenty of time to get over it," he said.

"The intensity in the first half of the year is probably a little bit higher than the second half so there were a few sore bodies, but I think the boys have come back well rested and looking forward to the game."

The Pies enjoy a healthy recent run against the Swans, winning the last three matches at ANZ Stadium and the last six overall.

"We match up pretty well against the Swans and we've had some good success," Fraser agreed.

"But they're a vastly different side this time around, so I guess recent history is not going to count for much.

"We had a good month of footy going into the break and we had a good training session just prior to the weekend off. The boys have come back in good nick, the spirit's been good on the track and we've done some good homework on the Swans.

"The boys are as hungry as ever to play well."

Fraser's own battle against Swans ruckman Darren Jolly looms as one of the match-defining duels.

"We've probably shared the honours in the past and I've been pretty happy with my own form in the past month or so," Fraser said.

"It'll be a great challenge. People regard him as the in-form ruckman in the competition, so it will be good to see where I sit at the moment."