Magpies hope four are right for Tiges
COLLINGWOOD’S tough four-day turnaround between Anzac Day and Sunday week’s Round 6 clash against Richmond could be tempered by the imminent return of a quartet of injured players.
Taylor Adams, Jamie Elliott, Darcy Moore and Josh Smith, who have all suffered hamstring injuries, are all likely to resume playing at either AFL or VFL level next weekend.
The Magpies will almost certainly need to make a few changes off the quick backup, and Collingwood football manager Geoff Walsh has forecast all four are on track to be playing football across the next week or two.
Levi Greenwood, who hasn’t played this year due to a knee issue, has also made progress and could be back playing in the VFL to get some conditioning in the next two to three weeks.
“We are pleasingly getting into a stage where the guys who are out injured are very close to resuming,” Walsh said.
“The pleasing thing that came out of (last weekend) was that we didn’t add to the injury list.”
Smith suffered a torn ham- string in the Round 1 loss to Hawthorn, while Moore was injured a week later in the loss to Greater Western Sydney.
Elliott and Adams could not get through training last week with low-grade hamstring issues and missed last Friday’s win over Adelaide.
“They are all guys that are looking at somewhere around the Richmond game,” Walsh told the club’s website.
“We have got the Anzac Day game and four days later is the Richmond game, (so) there is a possibility that all or some of those guys will resume around that time, if not then, certainly the week after.”
Greenwood is finally painfree after a slow build-up to the season after pre-season knee surgery.
“The pain that he has been experiencing over the previous month is diminishing quite significantly,” Walsh said. “He is running freer and being able to train with a bit more freedom than he has in the past.”
Kayle Kirby is “still on light duties” after collapsing during a VFL game two weeks ago because of an irregular heartbeat. He has had more scans and the club expects a clearer understanding of those results next week.