COLLINGWOOD hopes Heath Shaw can get through its main training session in order to prove his fitness for Saturday night's blockbuster against Hawthorn.
The 24-year-old missed last week's loss to St Kilda with a back complaint and while the running defender has had back and hamstring problems in the past, football manager Geoff Walsh said Shaw would play if right.
Shaw will play the main role in determining his fitness ahead of the crucial showdown with the Hawks, who are desperate for their second win and to maintain their strong recent record over the Pies.
"We've got our main session tomorrow so obviously we'll be mainly guided by that but at this stage I think everything will be OK," Walsh said of Shaw's injury status on Tuesday.
"We'd expect him to do something tomorrow. We'll just be guided by him.
"He knows himself and his body pretty well, so he'll mainly give us an indication on how much he lets go."
Meanwhile, the club has received good news regarding two other players who have made quicker-than-expected recoveries.
Ruckman Cameron Wood is in line to make a return to football this weekend while Ben Johnson, whose season looked in doubt when he hobbled from the MCG in round two, might not be far away from resuming.
Wood will play in the VFL in his comeback from a thumb injury sustained in Collingwood's pre-season victory over Adelaide in Alice Springs.
"We think if he gets through this week's training … he'll have a run around in the VFL, which is maybe a week or two quicker than we thought, which is good," Walsh said.
"I wouldn't think he's going to come straight back into the AFL after the length of time he's missed."
Johnson displaced a kneecap and while initial opinion had him out for up to a month, Walsh said the he had a history of recovering quickly.
"He'll try to do a bit this week," he said.
"I wouldn't think he'd get up at this stage but he's a guy who does get over things quite quickly.
"We've got two training session to go before the week's out, so we’ll just monitor that one."
