Collingwood injuries: Jordan De Goey, Jamie Elliott, Daniel Wells, Levi Greenwood ruled out

NATHAN Buckley admits Collingwood is always under scrutiny but says the Magpies are ready to attack a challenging start to the season despite another bizarre injury blow.

Jordan De Goey was hurt playing with his dog. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

COACH Nathan Buckley says Collingwood is ready to attack a challenging start to the season despite another bizarre injury blow.

On Monday the Magpies ruled out young gun Jordan De Goey for at least the first three rounds after he broke a hand in an accident at home on Saturday.

Buckley explained De Goey was throwing a toy for his dog when he “caught his hand on the edge of a door handle”.

De Goey, who turned 21 six days ago, had been battling a thigh issue but was in the running to win a berth in the side to play the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Friday night.

Collingwood had a similar tale of woe in February last year. Defender Jeremy Howe said he broke a hand while throwing a frisbee for his dog shortly after he had played a suburban Twenty20 cricket match on the same day.

“We might try and find a way to lock the boys’ dogs up at some point through the last month of pre-season because there’s a bit of a pattern emerging here with playing with your pets,” Buckley joked.

De Goey joins Levi Greenwood (hip), Jamie Elliott (ankle) and Daniel Wells (calf) as key Magpies on the sidelines for Round 1.

Recruits Chris Mayne, Will Hoskin-Elliott and Lynden Dunn were in the mix to play, Buckley said.

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Greenwood had surgery on Monday and is expected to miss 4-5 weeks, Elliott is in serious doubt for Round 2 and Wells is aiming to play “some football” in Round 3.

Entering his sixth season as coach at a club that has not made finals since 2013, a relaxed Buckley said there was pressure to perform but he was enjoying his role more than ever.

“We put ourselves under a lot of pressure because we expect to perform and we expect a certain level of teammanship in the way we go about it,” Buckley said.

“The fact is we are a club that are always going to be under scrutiny.

“Our players, especially our young players, have got a bit of an idea on that and a bit of a handle on it and are now better placed to be able to address it and attack it. And personally as a senior coach I’m loving this role more than I ever have.

“We’re really confident we’ll put out a competitive 22 and we’re really looking forward to getting the season started for us on Friday night.

“We’ve got some challenges early in the year and we’re looking forward to them all.”

It’s unclear when Daniel Wells will make his Collingwood debut. Picture: Michael Klein

Jamie Elliott is facing more injury problems.

COLLINGWOOD CASUALTY WARD

Jordan De Goey

Broke his hand on Saturday after getting it caught on a door handle while playing with his dog. Expected to miss 3-4 weeks.

Levi Greenwood

Having surgery today on a troublesome hip. Expected to miss 4-5 weeks.

Jamie Elliott

Having recovered from back issues which saw him miss last season, now has an ankle complaint. Will miss Round 1 and most likely Round 2.

Daniel Wells

Currently on a training program which will hopefully see him play “some football” in Round 3, likely VFL. Best case scenario appears to be him taking on St Kilda in Round 4.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

It’s a big year for Collingwood and coach Nathan Buckley, who is entering his sixth year in charge — and the final year of his contract — and has not steered the side to finals since 2013.

Wells wasn’t there last year while Elliott also missed all of the 2016 campaign.

But De Goey played 20 games in 2016 and Greenwood 21, both playing key roles.

The Magpies meet the Western Bulldogs, Richmond, Sydney and St Kilda in the opening month, with three of those sides being widely tipped to play finals this year.

The feeling is Collingwood needs a strong start, which now looks an even more difficult task.

If not, the pressure will quickly build at the Holden Centre.