Collingwood coach Craig McRae has confirmed defender-midfielder Harry Perryman will return to the starting 23 after recovering from a hamstring injury.
The 27-year-old will play his first game since Round 8 when the club faced Hawthorn. McRae joked that he injured himself trying to do one of the hardest tasks in football.
"(Perryman) went out playing on the Wizard (Nick Watson)," McRae said in Saturday's press conference.
"It was difficult for him to keep up with the Wizard, and many are struggling with that, but it's good to have him back in the team and work through that.
"He is a much-loved part of our team, and players love playing with him. He is tough. We have missed him. He will be integral to what we are doing."
Collingwood has omitted midfielder Ned Long and defender Wil Parker from the line-up for Monday's clash with Melbourne.
Alongside Perryman as additions to the Pies side will be mature-age 2026 Mid-Season Draft selection Mitch Podhajski.
McRae said the 192cm forward from Coburg was brought into the side to fill the hole left by Jamie Elliott's ACL injury.
"Pods' is an old man," he laughed.
"He fits in well with our team. A 27-year-old debutant. I think he kicked 50 goals in the VFL.
"We found last week that with Jamie out, with the role that Jamie plays, we probably put five, six, seven guys through that role, and at times it really disrupted some system that we have developed over a long time.
"So we thought, 'Who can play that role for Jamie?' And this guy comes in, and he has only been here a week, but he can do it. He just understands the game; he understands football and patterns, so we are giving him a chance. Slight difference from Coburg to the MCG on King's Birthday, but we think he is ready to give us his best."
Having spent less than two weeks in an AFL system, McRae said what he has learned of Podhajski's character is that he is cool, calm and collected.
"He is pretty laid back," he said.
"He is a pediatrist by trade. He's a family man, 27. He's lived and, I think, there's something in that. You rock up here as an 18-year-old and brush your teeth, then as a 27-year-old that's lived, you have a different energy about you and a different purpose.
"The mid-season draft period gives those hopes to those who have maybe been looked over many times. He's an elite player at the VFL level, I think he is the leading goal-kicker currently there, so he gets a chance."
