Collingwood will enter its qualifying final without Nick Daicos after the club confirmed he’d been ruled out for the match as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
Daicos has missed the Magpies’ past three matches after suffering a hairline fracture in his right knee during the club’s shock Round 21 loss to Hawthorn.
But any hope Collingwood fans had he was ahead of schedule was dashed on Friday night.
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The Magpies confirmed to Fox Footy’s Jon Ralph that Daicos wouldn’t start running for another seven to 10 days. He would then have to progress through various stages before being considered for a return to the team.
There’s also a chance Collingwood will feature in the first of the four week-one finals, which would almost certainly be held on a Thursday night. Should that happen, Daicos would have no chance to be fit in time for that clash.
However, should the Pies win their first final without Daicos and have the semi-final weekend off, the young superstar would have ample time to prepare for a preliminary final.
Daicos remains a red-hot chance to win this year’s Brownlow Medal – despite missing the final three home and away games – after a scintillating 2023 campaign.
Meanwhile, skipper Darcy Moore is on track to return from a hamstring issue for the qualifying final.
Moore, who was subbed out against Geelong in Round 22 with a hamstring injury, trained well with the club’s VFL squad on Friday and will partake in match simulation next week.
Defender Nathan Murphy (glute) and small forward Beau McCreery (suspension) are also expected to be welcomed back into Collingwood’s team for the qualifying final.
MORE TO COME
