Collingwood’s Head of High Performance Jarrod Wade has provided an injury update ahead of Wednesday’s pre-season Practice Match against North Melbourne at the AIA Vitality Centre.
Vice-Captain Brayden Maynard has recovered from shoulder surgery which he underwent during the off-season and has returned to full training. The 27-year-old has been involved in the majority of drills since January, and all full-contact drills across the last two weeks.
Maynard won’t play in tomorrow’s first Practice Match against North Melbourne but will play some minutes in next week’s AAMI Community Series clash against Richmond and will be available for Opening Round.
2023 leading Goal-kicker Brody Mihocek also underwent surgery during the off-season on a calf injury sustained before the Christmas break that sidelined him for six weeks. He has also returned to full training and won’t play in tomorrow’s clash, with an eye to playing some minutes against Richmond before taking the field in Opening Round.
Returning to the field in tomorrow’s Practice Match will be 2023 Copeland Trophy Winner Josh Daicos, who experienced discomfort whilst running during the Christmas break. After training on a modified program to relieve neural pain experienced in his back, calf and Achilles, the 25-year-old has increased his training load and returned to full training.
2023 draftee Harry DeMattia will be sidelined until at least Round Eight after sustaining a finger tendon injury at training last week. After undergoing successful surgery, the 18-year-old will be able to complete a solid running block before gradually returning to full scale training drills.
Newly signed Magpie Josh Eyre is walking pain free after undergoing surgery on the hamstring he injured prior to the conclusion of the Supplementary Selection Period. The 21-year-old will continue his recovery, with a standard guideline for an injury of his nature anywhere between 10 and 14 weeks.
As announced last week, Nathan Murphy is still working through his return to Football after sustaining a concussion during last year’s Grand Final. The Premiership defender is completing all non-contact football drills and is keeping his running loads high, while being supported as he works on his confidence to engage in contact training. Further updates will be provided in due course.
Daniel McStay met another exciting milestone this week, after returning to running at training as his recovery from his ACL surgery hits the 11-week mark. The key forward will now move onto a program that sees him complete two running sessions a week, complemented by gym and bike sessions. The 28-year-old year old is a in a positive state of mind and will continue to increase his training load as time goes on.
Watch the full Injury Update:
