Collingwood will push to have injured dynamo Jordan De Goey available for their AFL clash with reigning premiers Brisbane.
But the Magpies are prepared to play the long game with the frustrated midfielder's latest setback.
De Goey was substituted for "tactical" reasons against Carlton, but will miss Friday's Gather Round clash with Sydney at Adelaide Oval after pulling up with ankle/achilles soreness.
"It's reasonably minor. He's just got a little bit of a grumbly ankle," coach Craig McRae said on Wednesday.
"We learned our lessons from last year. We're not going to put Jordy out there where one issue becomes two and we're chasing our tail a little bit.
"So we decided early in the week to make that call and then get him right, ideally for Brisbane."
De Goey will travel with Collingwood to Adelaide, then Brisbane, with a view to facing the Lions at the Gabba next Thursday.
McRae insisted De Goey was only being managed against Carlton.
"He had no signs of this to this degree," McRae said.
"He had little things going on prior to the game and that's why we sort of thought, 'oh, let's just look after him a bit'.
"Then he's pulled up a bit sorer on Sunday than we thought post-game. So again, we play the long game with him.
"We're hopeful that Brisbane's the target, but we're not sure.
"That's still the plan and we'll take him to Adelaide, then we'll take him to Brisbane with us and we'll have all our physio team and high-performance team around him and, again, ideally, we'll push him for Brisbane."
De Goey had a horror 2024 with groin and abdominal injuries, and missed the start of this season with knee bone bruising.
"I had a good chat to him earlier in the week and he was a bit frustrated because he's two steps forward, one step back," McRae said.
"But again, what is it, round five now? We've got plenty of time and he's done a power of work to get to this stage.
"He's certainly in a different position body-wise than this time last year, so (it's) a minor setback and we'll play the big game."
Dan Houston will miss the Sydney and Brisbane games after he was suspended for a high bump on Carlton's Lachie Fogarty.
McRae wouldn't be drawn on whether Houston, who missed the start of the season through a suspension received at Port Adelaide last year, needed to change his approach.
"To say that he wants to change things - I'm not sure. We'll wait and see on those things," he said.
"But I think the reality of missing your best players is not much fun as a coach and as a team."
Brayden Maynard is a free agent at season's end, but McRae stressed he was just focused on the "much-loved" defender's performances.
"Very keen (to keep him). I say that to him daily, how much I love and appreciate him," he said.
"I'll leave list management up to others. That's not something I touch, but I make sure he feels appreciated and loved."
