CTV > Blake Caracella's Friday press conference

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JOSH FRASER is heading back to the VFL to get some match fitness after a month without football.

A knee injury meant the 26-year-old hasn’t played since his side's loss to Carlton in round 11, and he also missed round eight after the Hall of Fame Tribute match.

Collingwood assistant coach Blake Caracella said Fraser simply needed the run.

"He's playing in the VFL – he's probably missed three or four weeks now, so he needs to go back and get some condition and some fitness, and hopefully play well and come back next week," Caracella said on Friday.

The decision to leave a fit Fraser out of the AFL side to play Adelaide on Saturday at the MCG was made considerably easier for the match committee by the form of Cameron Wood and Chris Bryan.

"There's no doubt that Woody and Chris Bryan have been playing really good football the last three weeks, so that gives us the advantage of taking Frase back to the VFL and playing twos.

"Hopefully he'll play well, get his fitness back, and be right for next week."

But Caracella wouldn't entertain the idea that the first pick from the 1999 NAB AFL Draft was no longer an automatic selection.

"I'm not too sure about that – he hasn't played for quite a while, he's had some injuries. He played for Victoria and played quite well in probably his last game he's played fully fit, so looking forward to Frase to get back and play well this week.

"I think that's (whether he’s an automatic selection) a hypothetical and you can't really answer that.

"Wait until next week and see what happens."