COLLINGWOOD expects Darcy Moore and Jordan De Goey to transition back into full training in the new year after the pair spent time in hospital last week. 

Moore was recently admitted to hospital with a bone infection and is on the mend at home, but won't return to training at the AIA Centre until after the Christmas break. 

While osteomyelitis can be very serious, it is understood that the infection was detected early by club medical staff and won't derail Moore's pre-season, although a timeframe around his return isn't clear at this point.

"Darcy is laid low. Fortunately, he has a lot of kms in his legs prior to being diagnosed with his illness. Good players sitting on the sidelines aren't good at this time of year, but it is what it is," Collingwood coach Craig McRae told AFL.com.au on Monday. 

Moore finished third in this year's Copeland Trophy and will be considered one of the leading candidates to replace Scott Pendlebury as captain, after the 34-year-old announced he is stepping down as skipper after nine seasons and 206 games in the coveted role. 

De Goey went under the knife last week to treat the AC joint injury he suffered in Collingwood’s narrow qualifying final loss to Geelong in September. 

The club had initially hoped rest would allow the 26-year-old to fully recover, but after still experiencing issues with his right shoulder when he returned for pre-season, Collingwood opted to send De Goey in for surgery. 

"Thankfully it's only minor. He got an arthroscope and tidied it up, so he should be running very soon," McRae said.

Vice-captain Taylor Adams is nearing a return to full fitness after his 2022 season ended prematurely when he tore his adductor off the bone in the Magpies' first final. 

McRae said the All-Australian midfielder, who has been in the leadership group for seven years and is another leading captaincy contender, will transition back into the main group fully in January after completing most of the session on Monday.  

"He is on the right path. If anything, we're probably holding him back. He's ready to go," he said. 

"We'll release the restrictions on him post-Christmas and let him get into the full program."

After guiding Collingwood from 17th in 2021 to a point away from a Grand Final in his first year at the helm – on the back of a leap from six wins to a staggering 17 – McRae spent part of the off-season break undertaking professional development in the United Kingdom. 

The 49-year-old travelled to London with his family, as well as assistant coach Hayden Skipworth and high performance manager Jarrod Wade, heading inside English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur and England's National Rugby Union set-up, learning off veteran international coach Eddie Jones.

Collingwood director of coaching Brendon Bolton embedded himself inside Ange Postecoglou's program at Celtic in Scotland – Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell also spent time at the Scottish Premier League club – and head of strategy Justin Leppitsch visited NFL franchise Tampa Bay. 

"We got a lot of time off this year, which was deliberate to give our staff some extra time off. Everybody travelled; that was one part of our leave entitlement; we wanted people to travel and get better and I had to role model that," McRae said.

"Brendon Bolton went to Celtic and spent some time there. Justin Leppitsch went to the States and spent some time with Buccaneers. I was fortunate to go to London and spend some time with Tottenham Hotspur and get underneath surface level. I also spent time with Eddie Jones and English rugby, just trying to find little nuggets of gold."

McRae also presented at the Sport Performance Summit at Twickenham Stadium in London, after he was invited to speak alongside global sporting leaders when the committee discovered via Australian sporting icon John Bertrand AO that the Magpies coach was looking to attend. 

"This little fella from Christies Beach speaking in front of world leaders was quite the jump," he said.

"It was a great experience, something I’ll look back on at some stage in my life as a great learning experience to speak in front of so many admirable people from all over."