Collingwood vice-captain Steele Sidebottom says some of his teammates have discussed the possibility of their training surface contributing to the list of soft tissue injuries at the club.
The Pies were expecting Jamie Elliott to return from injury this weekend but a hamstring strain sustained at training on Wednesday will delay his comeback even further.
To add to the blow, midfielder Taylor Adams also strained his hamstring during the same training session and won’t play this weekend.
Daniel Wells, Jordan De Goey, Darcy Moore and Josh Smith have all missed games so far this season due to similar soft tissue injuries, an injury that has crippled Collingwood in recent years.
Sidebottom expressed concern and says that the issue has been raised by the club.
"I actually had this discussion with Reidy (Ben Reid) today," Sidebottom told 3AW.
"For me, when I'm running on a footy field, the surface is the last thing I worry about and it doesn't affect me.
"But there's definitely been talk from a few of our guys that it can get hard ... It mightn't be the best ground out there but for me personally it's fine. But I suppose it's just something we're going to have to deal with."
Ultimately, Sidebottom believes the training surface is not to blame for the injuries but feels for Elliott after another injury setback.
"It's shattering for Billy," he said.
"He's put in a ton of work and probably works harder than anybody on his body ... to pull up sore from training is disappointing."
Collingwood travels to Adelaide Oval on Friday night to play the Crows in the opening game of round four.
