COLLINGWOOD coach Michael Malthouse will meet with his medical team and Scott Pendlebury on Thursday afternoon to decide whether the club risks its star midfielder for Friday night’s clash with Essendon.

Pendlebury trained at Gosch’s Paddock on Thursday morning and Malthouse, whose team will already be boosted by the return of Leon Davis, said he would weigh up whether or not to take a punt on the left-footer’s availability.

Pendlebury has missed just one match since straining the medial ligament in his left knee against the Sydney Swans.

“He went well with the fitness test, now it’s up to the medical staff,” Malthouse said after training on Thursday.

“We will not take chances... but if it is right I can’t see any reason why the player doesn’t play.”

The coach also agreed with forward Paul Medhurst’s assessment of Collingwood’s round five loss to the Bombers, admitting the final quarter fade-out had lingered with the side a little.

“You don’t get one back because you don’t make up what you have lost, but I do think he is right... our option taking at the end of the game was quite poor and we paid a supreme penalty,” Malthouse said.

However, Malthouse thinks his side has learnt since his side’s Anzac Day defeat to the Bombers. And he knows the Magpies will need to be better than last time when they come up against “a good football side”.

“We know that they are an exciting team, we know that they’re a quick side, we know that they’re a quick-scoring side,” he said.

“I don’t think they really fear sides; they seem to want to back themselves.

“That’s characteristic of the way they’ve gone about it this year and full credit to them.”

Malthouse acknowledged the Bombers did possess superior leg speed – something that could be a factor should the ball spend a larger-than-normal time on the ground on Friday night.

But the veteran coach says he has given up believing forecasts so he is likely to stick with the 22 selected on Thursday night regardless of what the weather channels tell him.

“They are quick, and they’re quicker than us – we can’t change that,” he said.

“If it does get wet, the cream tends to be able to handle the ball a lot better and as a consequence you mightn’t have the time or space but they [the better players] find time and space.”