Collingwood sent key duo Darcy Moore and Jamie Elliott to an expert at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra to aid their recovery from hamstring problems.
Collingwood head of football Geoff Walsh confirmed that the pair had travelled to Canberra earlier this week to meet with an AIS physiotherapist whom the Magpies had a relationship with, as the club sought to get the best treatment possible.
Magpie Jamie Elliott hasn't played a senior game this year.
Photo: AAP
Walsh said he did not expect either Moore nor Elliott to play before the club's bye – which came after the Queen's Birthday blockbuster against Melbourne. This would mean the duo would miss at least four games each due to their latest setbacks, recurrences of hamstring strains this year.
"I wouldn't see either playing before the bye,'' said Walsh, who said the Magpies would have a clearer timeframe within 10 days to a fortnight.
Walsh said the AIS physio who had seen Moore and Elliott regularly dealt with the Magpies. He said they were taking a "pretty conservative" approach with both players, given the fresh injuries were in different sites in their respective hamstrings.
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Darcy Moore remains sidelined.
Photo: AAP
Moore strained the hamstring for the second time during a game this year, having first hurt it against Greater Western Sydney in round two. He did not return until round seven, and then suffered a second strain in the course of Collingwood's loss to Geelong.
Elliott's second strain occured in his return to football in the VFL on the same weekend as Moore's injury. Elliott, who had ankle surgery in pre-season, has not played at senior level this year.
Elliott and Moore are coming out of contract this year, with Moore having been offered a two-year deal by the club. Several clubs have expressed interest in Moore, who can fill a key position at both ends.
Walsh expected that Ben Reid, who has just signed a contract extension for 2019, to be available for selection for Friday night, having missed three matches with an Achilles injury.
The absence of Moore and Reid has meant that Collingwood played with just one genuine tall forward, the giant American Mason Cox, against the Saints and used mid-sized Jordan De Goey and Will Hoskin-Elliott as marking targets. The selection of Reid would give them a more conventional set-up in attack.
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