Collingwood premiership defender Ben Reid has avoided surgery on the shoulder he injured in a freak incident while holidaying in Thailand.

Watch the interview on Collingwood’s Official YouTube Channel.

Reid, 22, told collingwoodfc.com.au that while the set back is disappointing, it is only minor, meaning he is focused on being fit for the NAB Cup.

“Everything’s ok. The shoulder’s feeling pretty good. It was one of those things that happen hardly ever and it’s a freak accident. There wasn’t much I could do about it,” Reid said on Thursday.

“I’m obviously shattered that it’s happened but I’m just firmly focused on getting it right and getting myself ready for the season.”

With over a month until the club’s first NAB Cup fixture against Greater Western Sydney and the Western Bulldogs on February 18, Reid is confident that he can play a role in defending the side’s 2011 NAB Cup flag.

“At the moment I’m aiming to get back for the NAB Cup. Hopefully all things go well and I’ll be able to play.

“For the first couple of weeks I’ve just got to get my shoulder as good as I can and then go from there.”

Coming into his sixth season at the Westpac Centre, Reid says he will use the opportunity to bolster the muscles in his legs and increase his stamina.

“I’ll still be able to do all the running and lower leg weights which will be good,

“For a couple of weeks I won’t be able to do upper body stuff but they said it’ll only be a couple of weeks missing that and then I’ll be able to get back into it pretty well.”

Prior to the injury, Reid was enjoying a fruitful pre-season under new coach Nathan Buckley. Although he played only one AFL match (round 22, 2007 v Adelaide) and one VFL match (for Williamstown against Port Melbourne in 2007) alongside his new senior coach, Reid has spent the past two years learning from Buckley in his role as an assistant coach.

He is glowing in his praise of Buckley’s influence in recent months, and hints that the new coach may be pushing the players harder than ever on the training track.

“Bucks has been fantastic. He’s come in and implemented everything that we need to do and he’s been great for not only myself but I think for the whole group and he’s a bit of a fresh face,

“He’s really made training harder this year as some of the boys have said. I think this week’s been pretty solid for a few of them as well which is good.”

Reid, along with the rest of the playing list, returned to the club this week to continue their preparation for the upcoming season.