Mason Cox is set to play his first game since Round 2 this weekend, with Collingwood senior coach Craig McRae confirming the ruckman had completed his recovery from a spleen injury.
The Pies will be eager to regain Cox for their Sunday afternoon clash against Sydney, with fellow ruck Darcy Cameron also sidelined since Round 3.
Speaking to media on Friday, McRae confirmed that the tall American would return to the field after getting through training.
"He got through training, so he will play," McRae said.
"It is good to have someone tall back in the team and it also allows other things to fall back into place. We've had some moving parts in our team – everyone sees that – and now hopefully we get some stability in that part of our game.
"That was the concern – has he done enough work? I back in our high performance team. [High performance manager] Jarrod Wade has put him up for selection. He hadn't done any physical contact until today, but clearly he made a statement today."
The Pies may also regain skipper Scott Pendlebury for the MCG clash after the 35-year-old missed Round 7 with an eye injury.
"He is getting better every day. He is not quite there yet. He got through training and is improving every day. We'll pick him and he will be available," McRae said.
Nathan Kreuger meanwhile has been sidelined with a rib injury and won't feature at any level this weekend, while Nathan Murphy has been cleared to take on the Swans after a clash with Darcy Fogarty last week.
"We're looking after him. Unfortunately he has had a lot of different injuries in his time with us. He has a bit of a sore rib, so he is treating that and won't play at any level this weekend," McRae said of Kreuger.
