Jeremy Howe is determined not to let foot soreness slow what he describes as the “exciting” process of fitting into his new side.

Howe was restricted to light duties during the final two days of Collingwood’s preseason camp on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

The new recruit told Collingwood Media that the injury wasn’t severe, as he hopes to quickly return his attention to fine-tuning his game ahead of the 2016 AFL season.

“I’ve got a bit of foot soreness in my right foot. With any luck, that settles down pretty quickly over the weekend which will enable me to get back into full training again,” Howe said.

“Apart from that, my fitness levels are really good. I was running well and training well before that.

“In the last couple of sessions I just had to do a bit of cross-training instead. Hopefully I can get back as soon as possible.”

While Howe has previously visited the Sunshine Coast during preseason as a Demon, this week’s encounter has proved the perfect opportunity to bond with his new teammates.

“Getting away with the whole list and staff for five days straight was a great opportunity for my relationship building,” Howe said.

“Rooming with Steele (Sidebottom) was really good, but also being able to sit down and have meals with the boys every day allowed me to get to know them more on a personal level.

“We had a couple of afternoons off which was nice to be able to go and pursue a few things outside of footy.

“A few boys went fishing and golfing which was a good way to take our minds off it all and get refreshed.”

Preseason camps in the past have been focussed around challenging players at high altitudes. Collingwood have previously travelled to Northern Arizona in the United States and most recently spent a week in Queenstown, New Zealand.

This year the greatest test faced by the Magpies on the Sunshine Coast was Queensland’s high temperatures and taxing humidity.

Howe explained that while the individual aspects of Collingwood’s training program remained consistent throughout the trip, the difficult conditions added another challenge.

“We picked our program up and brought it to Maroochydore, but the conditions made it testing,” he said.

“The best bonding comes when you’re under fatigue and struggling.

“The boys get around each other and even for the boys that have played together, it’s a good opportunity to get away with each other.”

On a more individual level, Howe has used the preseason to develop his game as a utility destined to play on the wing and in the forward line under coach Nathan Buckley.

The 25-year-old has been welcomed into Collingwood group of promising forwards and is excited to debut for the Magpies in 2016.

“Speaking to Bucks over the offseason, it was always going to be a centre/forward role,” Howe said.

“Some games I might play the majority forward, sometimes I might play on the wing.

“Pre-Christmas when I was training with the boys I was just trying to get a bit of chemistry with the likes of Clokey (Travis Cloke), Jamie (Elliott), Jesse (White) and Darcy (Moore).

“Hopefully I can get back as soon as possible and continue that. It’ll be exciting to run out in the black and white with those boys.”