COLLINGWOOD captain Ruby Schleicher is confident a surgically repaired left hand will only be a minor disruption as the Magpies begin pre-season training this week.
The dual All-Australian underwent surgery after sustaining the injury during a recent optional training session.
As the Magpies and other AFLW clubs begin their official pre-season on Monday, Schleicher said she didn’t expect the injury would hold her back in a meaningful way.
“I just thought I was (Dustin Martin) for a second in training and learned pretty quickly that I’m not, so I had surgery last Tuesday,” she said.
“It won’t be a problem, we start pre-season Monday week and I’ll be out there for that – the plates and screws are in there and they’ll stay in there.”
Schleicher spoke alongside Melbourne defender Saraid Taylor and men’s counterparts Pat Lipinski and Tom Sparrow at Monday’s launch of Big Freeze 12, the annual fundraising showpiece for Fight MND.
Schleicher is one of the most important pieces within a young Collingwood outfit, her experience, leadership and versatility all extremely important as the Magpies look to rise up the table.
Schleicher, whose next AFLW game will be her 75th, took over the Collingwood captaincy last year and played 10 of 12 matches – missing one game with concussion and another due to a corked thigh.
The 28-year-old is confident she would be able to play if games were being played this weekend.
“As far as I’ve been told we just had to wait for the stitches to heal which pretty much takes me to tomorrow and then I can filter in as is,” Schleicher said.
“If it was in season, and a lot of these sort of things happen in the women’s and men’s seasons, I’d be missing a game for the stitches and then I’d be back playing.
“So there’s no real concerns that I’ll be missing any big chunk of training or any footy.”
The Magpies went 3-9 in 2025 after winning only one game in 2024, a season that netted them Ash Centra as the number one pick in that year’s Telstra AFLW National Draft.
Centra heads into her second campaign after playing eight games in 2025 before a calf injury and a stress reaction in her shin.
Her skipper said there’s a good deal of optimism about what Centra can deliver this season.
“Her pre-season might look a little different, she might not be hitting the same loads as me in my 11th pre-season is hitting, just to manage her body and make sure she’s there to play the games,” Schleicher said.
“But she’s looking really exciting and getting a good body of work under her.”