Injury List

Collingwood News

Collingwood v Brisbane Saturday April 4, 7.20pm Gabba 7mate / Fox Footy 7.15pm Weather: Min 21 Max 27 Chance of rain 90%: 5-10mm Wind: E 15kph Betting: Collingwood $2.35 Brisbane $1.60

Collingwood will tackle its season opener against Brisbane without the help of ruckman Jarrod Witts.
Witts, who underwent shoulder surgery at the conclusion of the 2014 home and away season, has been involved in VFL match practice in each of the past three weeks, but will sit out this weekend’s matches owing to general soreness.“Jarrod has done some very good work coming back from shoulder surgery,” Director of Football Neil Balme told CollingwoodTV’s Blackmores Injury Update.
“He has played the last two or three weeks.
“We will give him a bit of a break this week, he’s a touch sore generally, but he almost certainly will play the week after.”
Witts’ absence opens the door for Brodie Grundy to take charge of the ruck division.
Grundy was one of 13 Magpies to feature in all three NAB Challenge games, averaging 16.3 hitouts and 9.7 disposals (5.0 contested) per game.
Key defender Ben Reid continues to make steady progress as he works towards a return from soft tissue concerns.

Injuries
Player	Injury	Status
Levi Greenwood	Ankle	6 weeks +
Brent Macaffer	Knee	Indefinite
Matt Scharenberg	Knee	2 weeks +
Clinton Young	Hamstring	2 weeks +
Ben Reid	Soft Tissue	1 week
Jarrod Witts	Soreness	1 week

Reid sat out last Thursday’s VFL practice match against Richmond as the club manages his training load to ensure he is “physically robust and ready to go,” as coach Nathan Buckley put it in his press conference on Tuesday.
“Ben is going very well,” Balme continued.
“His training load is being managed pretty well because we are concerned about the unusual nature of his body but he is going really well.
“He probably won’t play this weekend but almost certainly the weekend after.”
Others to sit out this weekend’s round of matches include Levi Greenwood (ankle), Brent Macaffer (knee), Matthew Scharenberg (knee) and Clinton Young (hamstring).
“Generally, the health of the list is quite good,” Balme said.
“You are always going to have some injuries but we are in pretty good shape.”