COLLINGWOOD midfielder Dane Swan remains in the mix to play against West Coast at Subiaco on Sunday.

The 2011 Brownlow medallist has not played since the Magpies lost to Essendon in round 17 after suffering a plantar fascia injury.

Swan was originally expected to miss a month but has recovered well and completed his first training session on Wednesday.

Magpies' coach Nathan Buckley said although the original plan was for Swan to return against the Brisbane Lions in round 21, there was a chance he could return early.

The coach indicated Swan would have significant input into whether he was right to perform at his best.

"He's a senior player. He has lots of experience so we'll end up having a discussion with him over the next 24 hours to see where we go from here," Buckley said.

Buckley said the fact a six-day break followed the trip to Perth would be a consideration but "it won't be a deal-breaker".

Collingwood must replace injured midfielder Taylor Adams – who is out for the rest of the season with a finger injury that requires surgery – but Luke Ball will not be the automatic replacement.

Ball performed well for Collingwood's VFL side last Saturday as did Ben Kennedy, Clinton Young and Brodie Grundy.

Adams will be in a splint for the next six to eights weeks and then have another six to eight weeks' recovery after his operation, which Buckley expects to happen in the next 24 to 48 hours.
 
"It's not even a close run thing. His season is done," Buckley said. "It's disappointing for him."
 
Buckley said Collingwood was considering playing two specialist ruckmen against West Coast.

The coach said he had no idea whether recently retired Eagles' champion Dean Cox would play but that West Coast had quality talls in every part of the ground.
 
Heritier Lumumba and Tom Langdon did not take to the track but Buckley said they were being managed, while Dayne Beams walked laps and Brent Macaffer had a light session as he recovers from a turned ankle suffered during Sunday's win against Port Adelaide.
 
Buckley admitted the Magpies were tired leading into the bye but had reset their focus during the break.
 
"We've got a renewed belief [in] the way we go about it. Whatever we produce is only going to come off the back of our effort and attitude," Buckley said.

"What I have noticed since the bye is that we have had guys step up and increase demands on themselves and their teammates."
 
Buckley said the Eagles were impressive in round 10 when they had 66 inside-50s but still fell short of beating Collingwood in an MCG shootout.
 
He said Ben Reid had not contributed a great deal in his first seven quarters of senior football for 2014 but the swingman remained important to the team's structure and he expected improvement to occur in the run home.
 
"It's our challenge to find out best," Buckley said.