Hamstrung trio Darcy Moore, Jamie Elliott and Taylor Adams are all in doubt for Collingwood's clash with Richmond on Sunday after all three stars trained away from the group on Monday.
With the Pies adamant they have their eyes on Wednesday's blockbuster with Essendon, with the club playing two games in five days, there is a huge uncertainty surrounding the trio.
"I'd be lying if I said [Moore] was [a chance]. He won't play on Wednesday and we'll have a look at him for the Sunday game. He's had a graduated return to full fitness and we still see him a week or more away," Buckley told the media on Monday.
"Tay's pushing a little bit and that will come to light in the next couple of days, but Jamie will be a week or two as well."
Moore sustained the injury in Collingwood's round two loss to the Giants, while Adams and Elliott suffered minor strains at training ahead of the clash against the Crows last week.
Buckley was reluctant to share the club's plan for recovering for the Tigers clash on Sunday, reassuring that Bombers clash is all they're thinking about.
"It's a long time ago now. We reviewed it and we liked a lot of what we saw. We think it was a reinforcement of some things that had been growing and improving gradually since we started playing opposition in [the] JLT [Community Series]," Buckley said.
"It was definitely a long way from the first time we rolled out against the Giants in [the first week of] JLT, so it's been a slow improvement for us. It's a matter of making it a habit. If it's a new level then we'd like to set the bar high. Clearly every game presents its own challenges."
The last time ANZAC day fell on a Wednesday was in 2012, Nathan Buckley's first year at the helm, where the Pies managed to win two games in five days.
