Collingwood will give small forward Andrew Krakouer as much time as he requires away from the club to sort through his personal issues according to captain Nick Maxwell.

Krakouer was yesterday granted a four-week leave of absence to deal with personal issues, and while the Magpies hope to have Krakouer’s wizardry back in their forward line as soon as possible, Maxwell stressed the need for his teammate to ensure his personal life is in order.

“Obviously ‘Kraks’ is going through some personal issues so for us as a club, we just want to support him as much as possible,” said Maxwell.

“We feel as a club that the best thing for us to do is to give him some time away to deal with his issues. The playing group is fully supportive of that because we know he’s an important part of our football club, but also he’s just a great person and he’s someone who has added a lot to our club in 12 months.

“We want to make sure that he looks after himself off the field and gets everything right and then welcome him back with open arms as soon as he’s ready to come back when he tells us he’s ready.”

Maxwell is confident that Krakouer will appear in the black and white in the near future, and hailed his teammate’s strong relationship with coach Nathan Buckley as an important link in Krakouer’s recovery.

“Even last year they were working together when ‘Bucks’ was trying to help him come into the team knowing that next year he’d be the coach,” he explained.

“I think the two of them are pretty tight, and they’ve been very honest and open with each other over the past month or so.

“‘Bucks’ is helping Andy through it.

“Whenever there’s personal issues for guys you just want to make sure they get that right. That’s the number one priority and number two is their football and trying to get them back here.”

Speaking after the entire Collingwood playing list participated in the ‘GO THE TAN’ charity event, raising money for FARA in supporting research to find a cure for Friedreich Ataxia, Maxwell was enthusiastic when prompted on the fitness of several key players including ruckman Darren Jolly and key backman Nathan Brown.

The pair battled knee injuries last year but Maxwell nominated the duo as champions of the track this summer.

“’Jolls’ has been one who’s been a real star for us and has shown the way. After a disappointing run last year with injury, it’s good to see him so fit.

“Nathan Brown’s flying. He’s never had too many problems with his body in terms of being in good shape.

“We’re still trying to hold him back as much as possible because he just wants to explode and get going. He could play tomorrow if he wanted to, we’ve just still got to take more time with him and make sure that other injuries don’t come along.

“His knee’s 100 percent. We’re looking forward to having him back.”

Maxwell was adamant that Brown will be ready to pull on the guernsey in round one, and is relieved to finally be free of injury after a wretched run in 2011.

“It’s probably the first time I’ve done a full pre-season for a couple of years now. It feels good to be able to do every session and train hard and feel fit.

“It’s good to be in front of the curve.”

The Magpies begin their NAB Cup campaign against the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney on February 18 in Blacktown.