COLLINGWOOD defender Chris Tarrant has recommenced training and is poised to play in the NAB Cup after overcoming a foot injury.
 
Tarrant, 31, has been restricted to cross training for the past few weeks as he rehabbed the complaint.
 
The 256-game player's injury isn't considered to be a long-term concern, and he could play as early as next Saturday against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium.
 
"He's had a foot problem but he's over that now," Collingwood's director of football Geoff Walsh said.
 
"He's started back joining in and if he doesn't play next week, he'll be very, very close.
 
"He'll take part in most of the NAB series."
 
Tarrant was absent from the Pies' Australia Post AFL Community Camp in Wangaratta on Tuesday, as he remained in Melbourne with a handful of other players to work on their recovery from respective injuries.
 
Heath Shaw also stayed behind with the three-hour bus trip to the north-eastern Victorian town not considered to be in his best interests as he recovered from Saturday's wins over the Western Bulldogs and Greater Western Sydney at Blacktown.
 
Dayne Beams, Alan Didak, Ben Johnson, Nathan Brown, Jarrod Witts and Andrew Krakouer were others to miss the camp with the majority remaining behind to work on their injuries, or in Witts' case, recover from Saturday night.
 
"[Beams] could have made the trip but I think at this stage of the year, our docs and our physios think they could spend the two days under some pretty intensive rehab instead," Walsh said.
 
"We've got enough guys flying the flag here so if there's a guy in the rehab program … most of the guys who didn't come were at the tail end or in the middle of a rehab program so it's better to keep them there so they can have Tuesday or Wednesday with our docs and physios or in the gym."
 
Earlier, Buckley said Didak - who suffered a torn adductor muscle on February 6 - would be "very close" to playing in round one of the season proper when the Pies kicked off their home and away campaign against Hawthorn on March 30.
 
Walsh said the 2010 premiership forward's recovery was progressing as expected.
 
"He's coming along okay. He's three weeks into it now and we thought he'd be anywhere between four and six. He's probably going to be six, I reckon," he said.
 
"He's halfway through his rehab. He's had no setbacks."
 
The Magpies were dealt a blow on Saturday night when another premiership forward in Brent Macaffer tore his anterior cruciate ligament while playing against the Bulldogs.
 
The 23-year-old underwent a traditional knee reconstruction on Tuesday night and is set for a lengthy recovery.
 
Captain Nick Maxwell said he was confident the unlucky forward, who was restricted to just four senior games last year owing to a foot problem and later a back injury, would attack his rehabilitation head on and emerge a stronger person.
 
"He's disappointed, but knowing him and knowing the way he attacked the pre-season after a disappointing year last year, I'm very confident he'll bounce back and come back bigger and better and stronger," Maxwell said.
 
"He's someone who is valuable to us and can play in so many different positions. We saw in 2010 how important he was to us so it's disappointing he's had two years now curtailed by injury but we expect him to be back."