Injury List

Injury Update Tuesday, July 21			Round 18 Collingwood v Melbourne Saturday August 1, 2:10pm MCG Fox Sports 2:00pm Weather: Min 7 Max 12 Chance of rain 80%: <1mm Wind: W 24kph Betting: Collingwood $1.30 Melbourne $3.50
Player	Injury	Status
Brenden Abbott	Shoulder	Season
Tim Broomhead	Fractured shoulder	4-6 weeks
Travis Cloke	Calf	Test
Jamie Elliott	Back	Test
Nathan Freeman	Hamstring	1-2 weeks
Brent Macaffer*	Knee	2-3 weeks
Jackson Ramsay	Shin	3-5 weeks
*Placed on the club's long-term injury list

Collingwood News Star forwards Travis Cloke and Jamie Elliott have not been ruled out of Saturday’s must-win clash with Melbourne, although Director of Football Neil Balme concedes the club is likely to err on the side of caution with the injured pair. Cloke (calf) and Elliott (back), who have kicked a combined 60 goals this season, both sat out Sunday’s loss to the Western Bulldogs. “Travis is recovering reasonably well. Whilst we would not rule him out of playing this week, he is a little bit unlikely but he is going very well, so we are pleased with that,” Balme told CollingwoodTV’s Blackmores Injury Update. “Jamie's back is similar. We have not ruled him out for this week but we will see how he goes. We won’t be taking any risks with him, either, with that kind of problem.” Balme classified the pair as short-term on the club’s injury list. Tim Broomhead was not as lucky, with Balme explaining he is likely to miss the remainder of the year with his cracked shoulder injury. “We don’t really expect Tim to be able to play any more this year,” Balme said. “He is not totally ruled out, but he is certainly long-term with that shoulder.” "Travis is recovering reasonably well. Whilst we would not rule him out of playing this week, he is a little bit unlikely but he is going very well, so we are pleased with that. Jamie's back is similar. We have not ruled him out for this week but we will see how he goes. We won’t be taking any risks with him, either, with that kind of problem." Director of Football Neil Balme

Ben Reid Ben Reid will be discussed by Collingwood's match committee for this Saturday's game against Melbourne at the MCG, but coach Nathan Buckley is still unsure whether the key forward is ready to play senior football. Reid kicked three goals, to go with 15 disposals, in the VFL at the weekend after having not played for nearly a month due to a setback pertaining to his susceptibility to soft tissue injuries. "He got through the game which was the first port of call. We will discuss him as the week plays out, starting this afternoon," Buckley said at the Westpac Centre on Tuesday morning. "My gut feel is that he's going to need more footy, but we'll make that call later in the week." The 2011 All-Australian has not played a senior game this season and his last match, his 99th, remains the round 21 meeting with the Brisbane Lions at the MCG last season. Collingwood has dropped five games in a row and, despite reasonable form against some of the competition's top sides, the Magpies find themselves in 11th position on the ladder. Buckley indicated that in the recent losses to West Coast and the Western Bulldogs his side had gone away from the style of play that makes it hard to beat. "Our brand is contest and defence first, and offence off the back of it," Buckley said. "It won't be surprising anyone to say that's where our focus is. At our best we're very hard to get (the ball) through when we setup defensively and bring heat on the ball."When we play really solid team defence we're pretty hard to beat." The Magpies return to the MCG for the first time since facing Hawthorn in round 14 and Buckley implied the dimensions of that venue, as opposed to Etihad Stadium, suits how his team structures up.