Collingwood coach Craig McRae didn't think Jeremy Howe would play again in 2023 in the weeks after he was carted off the MCG in round one, but the veteran is now ready to return for Sunday's game against Adelaide.
The 32-year-old hasn't played for four months since suffering a horrific broken arm following a nasty collision with Geelong small forward Tyson Stengle.
Howe required four bouts of surgery to not only repair the damage but treat an infection in his arm that hospitalised him for a week and will wear a padded sleeve on his arm for protection.
After playing only four games in 2020 due to knee surgery and eight in 2021 following hamstring surgery, Howe finished fourth in the Copeland Trophy last year after playing 24 games to help the Magpies get within a kick of a Grand Final.
McRae is confident the mobile defender will seamlessly slot straight back into Collingwood's backline after returning to full training across the past month and running for the past 10 weeks at the AIA Centre.
"He is ready to go. He has done a power of work, probably four weeks of training and lots of running. Now he has got to go out and do it. It is great to have him back," McRae told reporters on Friday.
"Probably three or four weeks post-operation I thought he was no chance (of playing again in 2023). Then when he had the infection there was no timeline attached to it. Then there was almost the unknown. But he did say to me he was a good bone healer, so he was true to his word.
"It is amazing how much the GPS tells you these days. They were training above AFL level in terms of intensity for weeks on end. Patty Lipinski, for example, did four weeks of work that was more than he did for the whole pre-season. But it is one thing to do the work, it is another to go out on the MCG, that's a different thing, but he is ready to go."
McRae will have some difficult decisions to make at selection on Friday afternoon, particularly down back with Billy Frampton playing every week he has been available since Howe went down.
Jamie Elliott will return against the Crows after missing the fortnight before the bye due to a shoulder, while Jack Ginnivan has been included in the squad after being left out of the King's Birthday loss to Melbourne last Monday.
"There are some decisions to be made. We are going to go and finalise our team (this afternoon). It is a good problem to have," McRae said.
"Billy [Frampton] has been really important to us. I'm not sure where he fits at the moment, we've got to work through that, but he puts pressure on players to perform and that's a good thing."
Collingwood has greater depth this year compared to 2022 with a handful of Magpies hunting a chance in the 23. Fin Macrae has been starved of opportunities this year and hasn't added to his 11 games of senior experience, despite averaging 25.3 disposals and 5.9 tackles across nine VFL games. Trent Bianco hasn't played since last year's preliminary final, while Josh Carmichael has only featured once as the sub.
"I probably speak to Fin and Trent Bianco and Josh Carmichael more than anyone else on the list – and Reef McInnes," McRae said.
"These guys are performing above the level of VFL and they are on the edge. Their time will come; using a cricket analogy, when that snick comes through to the slips, I want them to be ready to catch it, to grab their opportunity when it comes. It is difficult."
McRae said free agent signing Dan McStay will miss at least another couple of weeks after being ruled out due to an infection in the finger he had operated in April, which has kept him out since round five.
"I had his magnet ready to put on the team a couple of weeks ago and mid-week he jarred his finger and that was just enough to hold him back a bit and then it got infected," he said.
"We see him as vital to what we're doing and where we're going. My frustration is one thing, his could be another. Unfortunately, he's going to miss a couple more weeks by the looks."
While McRae was addressing the media for the first time since the loss to the Demons on King's Birthday, Jordan De Goey was being put through a gruelling session in the rain for nearly an hour after training with the main group.
McRae expects De Goey to return from his suspension in round 18 refreshed and in strong shape to make a serious impact as the Magpies push for their first premiership since 2010.
"He is still out there. this is what he did last time when he missed a bit of footy. If you want to turn the cameras around you'll see how hard he is working. That's what we are excited for. Clearly we'd love to have him play this weekend and next, but he is getting to work and we know when he comes back he is going to be a better version of himself," he said.
"I think we all stand here seeing Jordy growing before our eyes, we get to see it day-to-day. Sometimes when you have a dripping tap it takes a while to get a puddle. He has been a dripping tap for a while now, we have been really happy with his growth as a person."
Collingwood has won the past seven encounters with Adelaide, including the one-point win at the Adelaide Oval in round seven, and hasn't lost to the Crows since 2016.
The Magpies have won 11 of their first 13 games to start 2023, but dropped the game against Melbourne before the bye, ending an eight-game winning streak.
