Magpies expect Pendlebury back soon
Jul 20, 2017 - 2:46 AM Collingwood expect Scott Pendlebury to return to action in the next fortnight and will resist calls to ice their skipper for the rest of the AFL season.Pendlebury has had surgery on the finger he broke in last week's drought-busting win over Gold Coast and will miss Sunday's clash with West Coast.
Whether the skipper slots back in for the round 19 match with Adelaide or a week later against North Melbourne will depend on his recovery from the operation.
"Clearly there's a fair bit of damage in the finger. There was a little bit more trauma to fix it than they initially thought," Buckley said on Thursday.
The coach said Pendlebury may report for duty earlier than the club would like to see him back out on the field.
"He'll be thinking 'I'll take this week off and get set for the week after'," Buckley said.
"If Kane Cornes was commenting on Pendles he'd say that he carries (his injuries) pretty well. He doesn't make a lot of fuss.
"He'll put his hand up before we think he'll be ready - it may be one, it may be two (weeks out).
"We'll make sure we make the right call for him."
With the club's season effectively over at 6-10 in the win-loss column, Buckley said there was no temptation to bench the 29-year-old for 2017.
"If he's fit, he plays," he said.
A decision on Pendlebury's replacement in the team is yet to be made ahead of Sunday's match.
"Our VFL (side) got done on the weekend but we've had some pretty solid form. We've had some players that are putting their hand up," Buckley said.
"Levi (Greenwood) didn't play last week - obviously suspended. Tom Phillips, Rupert Williams has been in great form.
"It's really important to maintain integrity of selection ... to make sure the players are really clear on being rewarded for what they're putting forward at VFL level and their attitude."
Source: AAP
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