COLLINGWOOD ruckman Darren Jolly is not a certain starter for Sunday's clash with Hawthorn at the MCG despite recovering well from his first game in two months.

The 29-year-old played around 80 per cent of the Magpies' loss to Sandringham in the VFL on Sunday and had 29 hit-outs and 23 disposals.

Captain Nick Maxwell said Jolly, who participated in the Pies' mid-week recovery session at the St Kilda Sea Baths on Wednesday, would be in the selection mix but was no guarantee to face the Hawks.

"He's only played one game since round five so I wouldn't say he's a certainly but I would expect him to be under consideration," Maxwell said.

View the best photos from today's session.

"He's pulled up fine. It's not his body that will stop him from playing; it will be whether the conditioning staff feel he needs to do more."

Teammate Travis Cloke believes Jolly's presence will make a "huge difference", but feels for ruckman Cameron Wood, who is expected to be omitted for the two-time premiership ruckman when he becomes available.

"Cam has done a fantastic job for us and it will be a shame if he goes out straight away but that's what happens in football and we all understand that," Cloke told afl.com.au.

"We look forward to the challenges we've got ahead and if that's a selection problem we've got, what ruckman we choose, it's a good problem to have for a football club."

Meanwhile, Maxwell said Ben Johnson, who was in the VFL side's best on Sunday, and Alex Fasolo, who performed well after being omitted following his round 12 debut, would also be considered.

But talented forward Alan Didak will miss at least this round with the calf strain that saw him subbed out of the Pies' six-point win over the Sydney Swans on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium.

Maxwell said they were hopeful it would just be a one-match omission for the two-time All Australian.

"He's even saying today he feels better just from three days after the game," he said.

"He hasn't had a lot of soft tissue injuries so we weren't exactly sure what it was all about but when you get a little bit older like him and myself at 28 you start to be a little bit more cautionary."

Maxwell also backed his teammate to return to his best form in the lead up to the finals despite his stuttering start to the season.

"Because he's Alan Didak and he's so good we put such high expectations on him and to come back from that injury he had through the whole finals series, that torn pec, it took a fair bit to get himself right," he said.

"He missed a lot of pre-season and his strengths in the past have been because he's been super fit; that's when he's been at his best.

"We know that's just around the corner so we'll get him back and I'm sure that around finals time, and hopefully the four to six weeks leading up, he'll get his fitness back up and really be at this best because we know how damaging he can be."

The Magpies braved the elements on Wednesday morning for a hot and cold session at St Kilda beach, after a frosty night where Melbourne was blanketed in fog.

Maxwell said it was normal for the players to complete such a session mid-week and the day usually depended on when their next match was to be played.

"The way we work is we work back from the days," he said.

"Because we play on a Sunday [this week], we work back and this is our normal 'Tuesday session' for a Saturday game.

"That's a recovery day where we do a bit of touch and have a swim, so it's normal for us."