Star Collingwood midfielder Scott Pendlebury is pushing hard to return from a cracked right tibia against Fremantle this Saturday, Magpies coach Nathan Buckley says.

Pendlebury has missed the Magpies' past two games since injuring himself against Gold Coast in round 10 but was set to resume "a bit of football work", Buckley told SEN radio on Monday.

Watch Brent Macaffer and Andrew Krakouer make their return to the training track on The Club above.

Buckley expected Pendlebury would do everything he could to take the field against Freo but said the Magpies would defer a decision on his availability until later this week.

He also stressed that decision would be made with the club's and Pendlebury's long-term interests in mind.

Meanwhile, Buckley said forwards Brent Macaffer and Andrew Krakouer, who ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments within a week of each other in February, and defender Ben Johnson (shoulder), were chances of returning to bolster the Pies' 2012 premiership campaign.

"All of our long-term guys are trying to obviously beat the odds in many ways," Buckley said.

"You don't often see players do an ACL and come back in the same year but obviously we've got Brent Macaffer and Andrew Krakouer, in particular, who are trying to do that.

"Ben Johnson with his shoulder is trying to do the same and all of them are hoping to be on the track in the next two to three weeks.

"If that happens and they start doing skills work - and there's plenty of boxes to be ticked beyond that - I wouldn't discount it.

"But at the same time we're not sitting here pinning our hopes on those boys coming back because it's more likely than not [that they won't]."

Nick Bowen is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: AFL_Nick