The dejected Richmond players leave the MCG after round 17, 2021. Picture: Getty Images

A FIVE-DAY turnaround before a must-win game against Brisbane means there's no respite in sight for the injury-hit Richmond.

Integral ruckman Toby Nankervis was originally named in the squad of 26 to take on Collingwood, but was pulled out before the final team was named as he battles an on-going PCL injury.

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Others on the sidelines include premiership stars Nick Vlastuin, Shane Edwards, Bachar Houli, Kane Lambert, Dion Prestia, Nathan Broad and Noah Balta.

The club is also sweating on the fitness of Mabior Chol, who played out the demoralising 16-point loss to the Magpies with a rolled ankle.

06:25

"See my head? There's a dent in it from headbutting a brick wall at the moment," coach Damien Hardwick said.

"I'm not sure we'll get anyone back, they're all doubtful at this stage.

"We lick our wounds, we give guys another opportunity and we find some guys who are going to come up.

"We were hoping [Nankervis] would be closer. He's tough, Toby, but he's so important for us. It's a delicate injury, if he's not right and he hurts it again, he's gone for the year. We thought we might be able to push the envelope a bit. He still might get up, but it's looking doubtful at this point."

09:12

Hardwick said there were some promising signs of improvement but bemoaned his side's inability to stick with Collingwood's senior players as they piled on seven goals in a last-quarter rout.

"It was tough. They effectively doubled their score in the last quarter, but when their cream rises to the top, they're tough to stop.

"Look at the influence of Grundy, Pendlebury, Adams and De Goey, that's the game right there.

"Their stars took hold of the game and we couldn't stop them. They kicked three goals from centre bounces, which is a little bit hard to swallow."

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Collingwood interim coach Robert Harvey celebrated his first win after taking charge three weeks ago but was quick to deflect any reflection on his individual achievement to the work of his team.

"I managed to avoid [the Gatorade shower] thank god, I thought I was in trouble," Harvey said with a grin.

"I felt like the players had been so positive all day in how they were playing, there were just a few areas which had let us down.

"The message (at three-quarter time) was more of the same, just a bit quicker if we can. We felt like the shape of the game was where we wanted it, there were just a few things letting us down and in a few big moments, they got the better of us early."

05:52

Harvey said his side improved the quality of its entries inside 50 in the final quarter, having played into Richmond defender Dylan Grimes' hands earlier in the game.

"I thought there were some really brave efforts, particularly from our leaders, in the last quarter to get over the line, and that was really good to see.

"We had enough good looks, particularly in the first quarter, but we just over-cooked some entries, and I thought they were decent entries. I didn't think the game was that out of shape, it was just a matter of working through it and maintaining our composure."

Harvey said youngster Will Kelly will miss some time with a quad issue, with the medical staff not too sure yet of the severity of the injury.