Dale Thomas and Tyson Goldsack will have delayed starts to the pre-season, with both requiring ankle surgery.
 
Goldsack, who had a breakout season in 2012 to play 22 matches, was operated on this week. Thomas is booked in for surgery tomorrow.
 
Both carried ankle injuries through the latter part of the season but by the end of the campaign it was deemed that rest alone would enable them to heal and return fully fit for pre-season. They will now be put on a rehabilitation program and return to full training in the New Year.
 
"The assessment at the end of the season was that a long spell from playing and training, a break, was going to have them all clear for the start of pre-season training," Collingwood director of football, Geoff Walsh, said.
 
"But they've come back and discovered, through training, that they're still being troubled. So we've decided to have them both operated on asap."
 
Thomas hurt his ankle against Carlton in round 15, missed round 18 in a bid to overcome the injury, and played out the season. His three goal semi-final cameo against West Coast helped usher Collingwood into its fourth consecutive preliminary final.
 
Goldsack was injured in round 19, against St Kilda, and missed three of the remaining seven weeks of the season but played the semi and preliminary finals and finished with 24 goals as a reborn defensive forward.