THE BAD news continues for Collingwood's Jordan De Goey, who will be out of action for two to three weeks because of a quad muscle strain.

Josh Carmichael will take De Goey's place on Saturday against North Melbourne at the MCG for his AFL debut, just three weeks after joining the Magpies as a mature-age recruit through the mid-season draft.

A scan confirmed the injury for De Goey after he left Thursday training early.

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Collingwood said in a statement he had a mild strain and will be assessed further next week, but it expects him to miss two to three games.

De Goey made a quiet return last week in the win over Gold Coast.

He had come back to the club a few days earlier after taking time off for personal reasons, following his ill-fated trip to Bali during the mid-season bye.

Collingwood gave him a suspended $25,000 fine and he apologised for his behaviour after video emerged of De Goey partying at a Bali bar.

The club has put contract negotiations with De Goey on hold until the end of the year.

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It was already a big season for De Goey, who is eligible for free agency later this year, after he was arrested in New York last year during an off-season trip.

He had played all but one game before the mid-season break.

But his injury now opens the door for Carmichael, 22, who was playing country football in Victoria this time last year.

Collingwood recruited him last month from SANFL side West Adelaide, where he had played this season.

Apart from De Goey's late withdrawal, Collingwood lost key defender Darcy Moore (knee) and Jeremy Howe will take his place after one game out because of illness.