Bobby Hill’s playing return date still in question amid battle with personal issues

Three premiership heroes are expected to return for the Pies in the blockbuster round 19 clash with Fremantle, but the status of one star remains up in the air.

Collingwood is hopeful Beau McCreery will be ready to return against Fremantle alongside Brody Mihocek and Patrick Lipinski but Bobby Hill’s return date is still up in the air.

Hill has been out of Collingwood’s team for the last three weeks and has missed four games since round 11 as he battles personal issues.

While he trained on Saturday and is said to be keen to make an imminent return to the senior team, even if he trained fully this week the Pies might decide he is not ready against Fremantle given his sporadic attendance in recent weeks.

They will be hopeful he feels ready to make a full commitment to training again so they can build him up and put him in a position to return to the senior side in coming weeks.

Hill’s return date remains in question. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

But with the football department off on Monday after returning from the Gold Coast those decisions on the timing of his return will be made later this week.

His last game was on June 21 against St Kilda, so playing him against Fremantle off a month’s break from football would seem a risk the Pies would not take.

The Pies continue to prioritise his welfare as he deals with a change in his personal life with coach Craig McRae ensuring he respects the private matter when asked about it in recent media appearances.

McCreery will attempt to train fully on Tuesday and Thursday ahead of Sunday’s home clash against the Dockers after injuring his hamstring against St Kilda in round 15.

His high-energy game and pressuring skills were badly missed against Gold Coast as the Pies reeled in a 40-point deficit then narrowly lost against the emerging Suns.

It shapes as a crucial clash against the white-hot Dockers given Brisbane is six premiership points behind the ladder leaders and Adelaide are only two wins behind Collingwood with a similar percentage.

If the Pies dropped out of the top two they would likely face an away qualifying final at the Gabba or Adelaide Oval.

They face the Lions, Adelaide and Hawthorn in the run home as well as Richmond and Melbourne.

Mihocek and Lipinski were managed against the Suns and while the Pies are unrepentant about their squad mentality, it gave rise to criticism from AFL great Matthew Lloyd that it cost Collingwood four premiership points.

Evergreen defender Jeremy Howe was subbed off at half time with groin soreness, with the Pies to update his position on Tuesday.

He missed two weeks with a groin complaint from round 10 onwards last year, and with Billy Frampton still 1-2 weeks away with a calf complaint the Pies will need to find defensive reinforcements.

The Dockers continue to play a trio of talls in Josh Treacy, Patrick Voss and Jye Amiss with two ruckmen so Collingwood will need another tall to play alongside Darcy Moore and

Charlie Dean had 20 possessions in the VFL so shapes as a possible contender to replace him but lasted only a single game in the AFL side recently against West Coast before being dropped.

Brody Mihocek and Pat Lipinski are both expected to face the Dockers. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Jordan De Goey will return to main training this week after his return to football was pushed back by two weeks with a concussion after an innocuous collision with Brayden Maynard.

He will need 2-3 weeks of full training and conditioning off his achilles injury but then will be ready for a return to either AFL or VFL level.

Collingwood is aware these next weeks are crucial for De Goey if they are to set him up for a finals tilt so need no more setbacks or missed training sessions.

He was back in full training when he and Maynard collided two weeks ago but was then put in the concussion protocols.

Given he was desperate for match conditioning it effectively put his return back two full weeks.

Originally published as Bobby Hill’s playing return date still in question amid battle with personal issues