Young Pie won't play until at least mid-year after foot operations
COLLINGWOOD'S No.6 draft pick Matthew Scharenberg will undergo surgery this week on the foot problems that have held him back in his first pre-season.
Scharenberg, who has been doing non-weight bearing training since joining the club in November, will have the sesamoid bone in both his feet removed.
Already set to miss the start of the season as he works through the injury, the operations will push back his expected return to football by four to six weeks.
He is still expected to push for senior selection in the second half of the season.
"He is a very talented player but he is young and we were always taking a long term approach with him. There was a small amount of lingering pain and with the operation he will have some certainty of an outcome," football director Rodney Eade said in a Collingwood statement.
"There is no real time frame on his return but all going well he should be running and seriously preparing to play in late May."
It is believed fellow Magpie Josh Thomas had similar surgery and has since responded well.
The 18-year-old missed the end of his season with SANFL club Glenelg and sat out last year's NAB AFL Draft Combine after struggling to overcome sesamoiditis.
While some clubs had concerns over the injury in the lead-up to the draft, the Pies took a long-term view and selected the athletic utility with their first selection.
List manager Derek Hine said after the draft the club had done "extensive research" on the injury and was confident the 191cm prospect would not be hindered by the problem.
The South Australian was a back-to-back All Australian at under-18 level and starred at last year's national championships.
The heat is off: Saints' pressure plummets as worrying trend emerges
St Kilda's pressure woes have been central to its best and worst already this season, with the Saints' pressure rating over the past two weeks one of the worst on record
'Back myself in': Dees gun braces for Cats tag
After wearing tags in his last two games, Christian Petracca is predicting more of the same in round eight's blockbuster clash with Geelong
Lacklustre Magpies look to address sluggish starts ahead of Blues clash
Bobby Hill says Collingwood's slow starts to games is something the Magpies need to get right ahead of facing Carlton
'The risk is too great': Crows veteran calls it quits
Rory Sloane announces his retirement, effective immediately, after undergoing eye surgery in the pre-season