COLLINGWOOD forward Will Hoskin-Elliott's recovery from a knee injury has been much slower than expected, with the club revealing he will be sidelined for a further five to six weeks.
Hoskin-Elliott underwent surgery to iliotibial band in his left leg on February 18 and the club refused to put a timeframe on his return, but Essendon goalsneak Orazio Fantasia returned just a month after undergoing a similar procedure last year.
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A best-case-scenario, four-week lay-off would still have given Hoskin-Elliott a chance to be available for round one, and at worst the 25-year-old expected he would the miss only the opening round or two.
This proved highly optimistic given the most recent update provided by the Magpies has the high-leaping speedster being sidelined until round seven or eight.
For the past fortnight the club had listed his return date as four weeks, before upgrading it to five or six weeks.
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In recent weeks Hoskin-Elliott has been increasing his running loads and intensity, and has been engaging in light ball skills, including kicking.
In better news, gun midfielder Taylor Adams appears certain to return for the Grand Final rematch with West Coast at the MCG on Saturday night after recovering from a tendon injury in a finger that prevented him from playing in the JLT Community Series and the opening two rounds. He has been training with a glove on his left hand.
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"As long as he completes his training the surgeon has cleared him and we would expect him to be available to play," Pies football manager Geoff Walsh told collingwoodfc.com.au on Tuesday.
Another star runner in veteran Daniel Wells is set to be available next week after overcoming a foot injury that sidelined him for the second half of last season.
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Young defender Nathan Murphy (calf), swingman Ben Reid (quad) and Tim Broomhead (leg) are likely to return in the club's VFL season opener against Coburg at Piranha Park on Saturday afternoon.
Father-son draftee Will Kelly (ankle) is still two or three weeks away, while Matt Scharenberg is aiming at a mid-season return in his comeback from a third knee reconstruction.
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The Pies don't believe Lynden Dunn's career is over, backing the veteran defender to make it back from a second anterior cruciate ligament rupture in the space of just nine months.
"We all remain hopeful that there's still a bit in the tank for Lynden, and he's of the same opinion. He'll have his surgery next week and then begin that long phase of rehab," Walsh said.
