Collingwood is tempering expectations on when Norm Smith Medallist Bobby Hill may return to the field, however, based on comments from coach Craig McRae, footy boss Charlie Gardner and captain Darcy Moore, it may be sooner rather than later.
The trio spoke on Hill following his return to the club in the past week after taking an extended time away to deal with personal issues.
"It's been awesome to have him back in the program and running around," Moore said on Channel Seven's The Agenda Setters.
"He's been in for a week or so and got a few really great sessions under his belt, so we're just excited to have him back."
Gardner acknowledged Hill has a long way to go.
"He's done a bit of training, but he's really just at the start line," Gardner said.
"He'll have a big block of training ahead of him, but we'll be guided by our medical team and our high performance team as to timelines.
"We don't have any timelines right now."
McRae was more buoyant about the prospect of the small forward returning in the short-term.
"I probably think so," McRae said in response to a return within weeks instead of months.
"To the eye, he's a bit fitter than we thought he'd be so we're excited to have him back."
Collingwood fans will rejoice in hearing the words from former Pies sports science director, David Buttifant, who said that Hill could return to matchplay, likely to be in the VFL, after a month of intense training.
Speaking to Zero Hanger, Buttifant said the gun forward would be eased back into games, but given the extended five-man bench, a reduced role in the AFL side could work in his favour for an earlier return, pending no hiccups.
"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."
