COLLINGWOOD recruit Jeremy Howe will miss all of the NAB Challenge and is no certainty to play in round one against the Sydney Swans.

The high-flying forward has struggled with right foot soreness and a broken finger in his first pre-season at the Magpies. 

Pies coach Nathan Buckley admitted it hadn't been an ideal start for the 25-year-old. 

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"It's been a broken pre-season, there's no two ways around it. He's [now] getting a full load from a running perspective," he said. 

"He's handling the footy again, coming back off his hand operation. I don't know what the timeline is. 

"We're unlikely to see him through the NAB Challenge and he's going to have to build through the next six weeks to get up into contention. There's still plenty of steps for him to take before he's going to be a prospect for us at senior level." 

The former Melbourne player came to Collingwood in a four-way trade also involving Port Adelaide and Adelaide. In that deal, the Pies also received a late pick in last year's draft and gave up Paul Seedsman (Adelaide) and Ben Kennedy (Melbourne). 

Howe and Collingwood are adamant the player's broken finger came from playing frisbee with his dog and not, as was rumoured, in the field during a suburban cricket match.

Buckley is hopeful defender Ben Reid will remain fit for the season. The 26-year-old has only played nine games in the last two years after dealing with constant soft tissue injuries.

"His history is his history. To date he's had a really strong pre-season," the coach said.

"He'll be one of those players that has done 75-80 per cent of the load. We know that we'll be better with him in our side and fulfilling a role behind the ball." 

Buckley also flagged the possibility of tagger Brent Macaffer playing half a game in Friday's NAB Challenge match against Geelong at Simonds Stadium.

"Caff [Macaffer] has had a fantastic pre-season. In this first round, there are guys that have had huge load throughout pre-season that, we see this as an opportunity to potentially play half games. 

"Caff may be one of those."

Macaffer ruptured his ACL in 2014 and missed all of last year after suffering further complications, although he managed to play some VFL late in the season.