Collingwood expects forward Mason Cox to have dodged serious injury, despite the giant Magpie needing to visit an eye specialist on Sunday after suffering blurred vision.
The 28-year-old missed the second half of the Magpies' 69-point win over Gold Coast after receiving a finger to the eye late in the second quarter.
He was sent for further inspection following the game, but the Magpies believe he will be cleared of any major concern.
"'Coxy' got a poke in the eye and the doc ruled him out at half-time having a look at that eye. He's now going to get some specialist advice to clear him from any damage to the eye," coach Nathan Buckley said post-game.
"He's only just gone in to see the specialist but we're not anticipating it to be anything major, but our doc was concerned enough to make sure that we sent him away pretty quickly.
"He had blurred vision, which makes it pretty hard to play, but we'll see how that settles."
Cox had managed four disposals and a goal before the injury struck, with the Magpies blowing the Suns away in the second and third terms, which they booted a combined 12 goals to two.
Buckley said criticism of Cox's form in recent weeks – he was held goalless in losses to Greater Western Sydney and Richmond – was misplaced, as his job in attack was largely dependent on the functioning of players further up the field.
"I believe that when we play to our strengths and when we play well as a side, there are some roles in our team that rely on the team football to be more coherent and well executed," he said.
"And I think our tall forwards are a couple of those guys who actually rely on us to be playing the game the way we'd like to.
"Coxy's one of the guys who, when we're playing out of our back half or we're losing clearances, it's a tough job for them when we don't give them clean supply. I thought in the first half Coxy showed what can happen when you clean that supply up a little bit."
The win came after the Pies had lost four of their past five outings and was an important percentage booster (they jumped 4.5 per cent) and will see them lock in a finals spot, with Buckley saying it was a "step in the right direction" to their best form.
The Pies looked set for a real blowout, having led by 65 points at the final change, but both sides managed two goals in an uneventful final term.
"Percentage didn't factor in our outcomes for today. We just need to keep building our footy and keep playing better as we go along and challenging ourselves to be in good shape to take on the teams that make it through the home and away [season to finals]," he said.
Buckley was uncertain whether the Pies will regain brilliant goalkicker Jordan De Goey for next week's meeting with Melbourne, after the superstar forward missed the Suns clash with a minor hamstring injury.
