Collingwood fans will rejoice in hearing that Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill could return to playing VFL after a month of intense training at the club, according to former Pies sports science director David Buttifant.
Buttfant told Zero Hanger Hill could be ready for an AFL return after three VFL matches, meaning the star forward could be seven to eight weeks away from a return in the big time.
Hill made his long-awaited return to training on Monday after he was granted extended leave in December to handle personal issues.
Buttifant said the extended five-man bench could work in Hill's favour for an earlier-than-expected return.
"He's looking at a good month," Buttifant said.
"We're seeing now the velocity of game has gone up. The rule changes, the extra player on the bench, which probably does support him a little bit. He plays three games in the VFL, they bring him in and play him 30-40 percent (game time) as a way to transition him smoothly.
"But if he goes into 75-80 percent game time, he becomes predisposed to fatigue, soft-tissue injury."
However, Buttifant erred on the side of caution given Hill's lack of football-like conditioning.
"That combatant workload, that's going to be the challenge for him," he said.
"You cannot replicate the same intensity as game day. That's where (Collingwood) will need to be relatively strategic in managing his workload well in the VFL, and getting him to the AFL.
"If they hop him straight in (to the AFL), he might get through the first week, but it's usually the second and third week that it catches up on them. It's residual fatigue, more predisposed and susceptible to having an injury.
"But you're probably looking at a month before he's fully ready to go but it's going to be the transitional period."
Buttifant also provided insight into how the Pies will get Hill up to AFL speed from a training perspective, but acknowledged the complications regarding the forward's absence from the club.
"Slotting him into small-styled games, high intensity interval training," Buttifant said.
"30-40 metre sprints, changing direction. A lot of footy specific stuff. Body work as well. Replicating the movement patterns you see in a game.
"He'll be hitting the gym as well but they'd be trying to get his conditioning up as fast as they can and then allow him, his body, to recover. That's going to be important.
"It could take longer to. It could take up to six weeks, because that offload period, you de-train, and when you do, it takes a month, month and half. It depends how much he's de-trained."
The speedy forward walked through the doors of Collingwood HQ last week but didn't train.
The Pies host GWS on Friday night at the MCG.
