Collingwood is enjoying a recovery season, but has lost a renowned second player to last week’s defeat against Gold Coast.
Collingwood could be left without star midfielder Jordan De Goey for the next three games as he tries to block himself for the final.
The Magpies confirmed on Friday that De Goey would miss Saturday’s clash with North Melbourne due to a quadriceps injury that could last for another fifteen days.
The 26-year-old underwent examinations on Thursday after reporting pain and revealed tension in his quadriceps.
The beneficiary of De Goey’s absence is mid-season recruit Josh Carmichael, who will make his AFL debut against the Kangaroos, last ranked in the MCG.
Carmichael, 22, is a powerful midfielder who has averaged 24 eliminations in three VFL games for the Collingwood Reserves since he was the No. 9 pick in the mid-season rookie draft.
Last year he was playing country football in the Sunraysia league before his strong SANFL form with West Adelaide put him on the AFL radar.
De Goey joins high-profile pair Darcy Moore (knee) and Brodie Grundy (knee) on the sidelines, but the Pies have a smoother run in the coming weeks, with the five lower rivals, Adelaide and Essendon.
Defender Jack Madgen will undergo surgery to repair his fractured thumb and will miss up to six weeks after suffering the injury in a training drill on Thursday.
De Goey has an average of 21 discards, six assists in scores and four within 50, while again dividing the time between midfield and striker.
The restricted free agent has rarely been out of the news since preseason after landing in court over a night incident in the United States.
De Goey was also sanctioned for his actions in a video while partying in Bali during the Pies’ mid-season farewell, which the club’s general manager Mark Anderson described as a lack of respect for women.
As a result, they also withdrew a lucrative offer from him, which was believed to be a two-year contract with “detonators” of the contract for two more.
De Goey said goodbye personally after the Bali incident and missed the round 15 victory over the Giants.
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