Collingwood are weighing up adopting a different approach to Darcy Moore's latest stint on the sidelines after the premiership skipper was cut down by yet another soft tissue injury.
Moore is set to miss at least a month and most likely much longer after suffering a moderate grade hamstring injury during last week's 10-point win over West Coast.
The 30-year-old missed a month of action earlier this year due to another hamstring injury, and he was grounded by a calf strain during the pre-season.
"It's been a been a frustrating year for him to get on the paddock, and then on the on the field," Collingwood coach Craig McRae said on Thursday.
"Clearly we need to do something different, because what we're doing right now - given his body feedback - he's not capable of doing it at the level which is required.
"We'll be progressive around that (his rehab)."
Moore's timeline is currently listed as "to be confirmed", and even McRae isn't sure how long it will stretch out.
"It might be a four-to-six (weeks) type injury, it could be a six-to-eight," he said.
"We might just weigh up what that means in terms of, 'OK does he need to train for a bit longer to be fit and available? Does he need to play a VFL game?'
"I don't know yet. We've got to work all that out."
Star forward Jamie Elliott will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL late in the win against West Coast.
Jamie Elliott has been helped off the field following this incident.#AFLPiesEagles pic.twitter.com/4aPMZDeHl9
— AFL (@AFL) May 23, 2026
Elliott is contracted for next year, and McRae praised the positive attitude of the 33-year-old.
"I saw him on crutches in the building again today. He has an operation Tuesday. It's heartbreaking," McRae said.
"The guy is a bit of a spiritual leader amongst our forwards and the broader group.
"And to see him go down - I know my heart sank late in the game. I'm sure all our fans' did, because he's a fan favourite.
"I'm surprised how positive he's been."
Nick Daicos looks set to face the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night despite undergoing scans following the win over West Coast.
"I think everyone went in for scans this week. I popped in for a couple on my shoulder as well - that was a revolving door," McRae quipped.
Scott Pendlebury, who broke the VFL/AFL games record last week and will line up for match No.434 on Saturday, could be on managed minutes.
"I'm very much aware of the emotional, I suppose, emptiness (on the back of last week)," McRae said.
"I'm having constant conversations with Pendles and how his body shaped.
"We might manage his minutes in the game somewhere. Not sure what that looks like at the moment."
