Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe is to have surgery on the hamstring he injured during the round five match against West Coast at Optus Stadium.

The 30 year-old had been nearing a return to play but was troubled during a weekend training session.  After consultations with specialists today, it was agreed to remove scar tissue from his right hamstring, a procedure that is likely to sideline him until late in the season.

“Jeremy trained exceptionally well last Thursday and all the signs were that he would return against Sydney this week,” Collingwood GM of Football, Graham Wright, said.

“But on the weekend he felt a grumble and we decided to have him re-examined today. Jeremy is understandably disappointed. He put so much work into recovering from a serious knee injury in 2020 and to lose a significant part of another season hurts.”

Collingwood will also be without defender Jordan Roughead and wingman Nathan Murphy for the match against the Swans. Both took knocks to the head in the second half of the match against North Melbourne last Saturday, with Murphy being substituted out of the match.

While Roughead passed his concussion test on the night, on balance the club is satisfied that both were concussed and should sit out the Swans match.

“The (concussion) protocols involve a fair bit more than the match day test and with all of the factors considered our doctors determined that it is in Nathan’s and Jordan’s best interests to miss,” Wright said.

“We spoke with the AFL, for the sake of clarity, and support the view that decisions on concussive episodes are often complex and in need of caution.”