STAR Collingwood midfielder Adam Treloar is set to return against Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday night after training on Thursday and overcoming an ankle complaint.

Treloar missed the Magpies' agonising three-point loss to his former side Greater Western Sydney.

The Pies fell to 2-6 but have a relatively healthy percentage of 91.4, considering they are 17th on the ladder.

"Adam's fine," coach Nathan Buckley said at the Holden Centre on Thursday.

"His ankle was playing up on him last week and on the balance of it, he was concerned about his ability to do what he needed to do.

"It's come good pretty quickly so he's confident that he's right to go.

"He just needs to recover and rest up and pull up well from training and he'll be named and play."

Defender Tyson Goldsack had his back scanned but Buckley denied there were any major concerns. 

If Goldsack, who turns 30 next week, were to miss, it would be a hefty blow in light of Ben Reid's quad injury that will keep him out for about a month. 

"I'm told he'll be fine," Buckley said of Goldsack. 

"You see a lot of players, their schedule through the week is adjusted for their own status. It's all about how we're going to best have them ready to perform on match day. Sometimes that's training them a little bit harder, sometimes that's getting them off their legs." 

Meanwhile, a setback for Travis Varcoe in his rehab from a hamstring injury will see him sidelined for games against Hawthorn, the Brisbane Lions, Fremantle and Melbourne at least. 

"He was pushing to get back not this week, but the week after, and felt really good in his prep. Unfortunately he's aggravated the injury, so that'll set him back two or three weeks from where he was going to be," Buckley said. 

"It's unlikely we'll see him before the bye." 

Collingwood hasn't beaten the Hawks since Luke Ball snapped a goal on his left foot with just under three minutes remaining to send the Pies into the 2011 Grand Final.

The last outing between the two sides saw Jack Fitzpatrick boot a goal through from the centre square to even up the scores at 111, with Paul Puopolo scoring a behind to give Hawthorn the advantage with 33 seconds left.

Collingwood will attempt to break that nine-game losing streak against Alastair Clarkson's men in the week of Lou Richards' death.

Buckley said his players had used Richards' passing to sharpen their perspective on a chance to turn a floundering season around.

"Speaking to the players and reflecting on Lou's contribution to the club, I think it just brings into focus why we do what we do, and the opportunity we have to be here everyday," he said.

Below: Brodie Grundy tries out hypoxic training in the pool