JUST when Craig McRae looked to be spoilt for choice ahead of Monday's King's Birthday blockbuster against Melbourne, he could be forced into making numerous changes following a costly trip to Western Australia.
Jordan De Goey will face the Tribunal on Tuesday night and will spend at least three games on the sidelines following a bump that left first-year Eagle Elijah Hewett with concussion.
Match Review Officer Michael Christian graded the incident as careless conduct, severe impact and high contact, extinguishing De Goey's Brownlow Medal hopes, potentially ending his All-Australian chances and disrupting the Magpies' phenomenal start to 2023.
Beau McCreery was subbed out of the 63-point win over West Coast with an ankle injury in the third quarter and could miss the traditional fixture against the Demons.
The 22-year-old underwent scans on Monday and his availability will become clearer in the next 24 hours when he meets with the high performance department.
Will Hoskin-Elliott injured his ankle at Optus Stadium and will need to be tested later in the week before being cleared to play in the final game of round 13.
Collingwood returned from Perth on Sunday night and won't return to training until Wednesday.
While McCreery and Hoskin-Elliott are in some doubt, the Magpies could regain Pat Lipinski and Dan McStay, with both expected to be available after recent operations.
Lipinski had surgery in March after dislocating the shoulder he had operated on in the off-season in a practice match against Hawthorn in Launceston.
The 24-year-old has returned to full training in the past week after a slow strength build in the gym and is on track to return next Monday.
McStay hasn't played since requiring surgery to repair the tendon in his finger he ruptured against St Kilda during Gather Round in April.
The Victorian has played only five games since crossing from Brisbane as a free agent in October, with Ash Johnson helping to fill the void in his absence, kicking a goal in all ten of his appearances in 2023.
Jamie Elliott missed the trip to Western Australia due to a lingering shoulder injury but is expected to return against the Demons.
Harvey Harrison made his debut in the west in the absence of Elliott and Steele Sidebottom, who injured his MCL in his 300th game in round 11.
Fin Macrae and Trent Bianco were both included in the 26-man squad against West Coast before playing against the Northern Bullants at Preston City Oval on Sunday, while Ed Allan was the carryover emergency.
Macrae has only played 11 AFL games in his career and none so far this season despite strong form at VFL level, where he has averaged 26 disposals and 6.2 tackles from eight appearances.
Bianco hasn't featured since last year's preliminary final loss to Sydney at the SCG but had 24 touches on the weekend, after the Pies went with Harrison for a debut in the west.
After playing seven games in the second half of last season, Josh Carmichael has seen his opportunities squeezed, managing only one appearance as a sub – round three against Richmond – across the first 12 rounds of 2023.
Reef McInnes has featured four times so far this season, starting as the sub three times as well as being subbed out of the Easter Thursday game against Brisbane. He kicked 2.3 on Sunday to keep his name in selection calculations.
Nathan Kreuger suffered another injury setback on Sunday, this time hurting his ankle in the last quarter before attempting to play on late, with his status yet to be determined.
Jeremy Howe hasn't played since badly breaking his arm against Geelong in round one, but the Tasmanian has started to transition back into the main group and is building towards a return in the next month.
The Magpies are 11-1 and have overcome a ruck crisis, but now they have some more injuries to deal with ahead of one of the biggest games on the home and away calendar.