Collingwood tall Ben Reid is in the running to play in the Pies’ season opener after a successful return in the VFL at the weekend.

Reid, 25, has been dogged by soft-tissue injuries over the past 12 months – most recently a calf problem – but Collingwood football manager Neil Balme said he had pulled up well from his first competitive hit-out of the pre-season.

Balme said Reid would be considered for the Pies’ final NAB Challenge match against the Western Bulldogs and remained a 50-50 chance of playing in round one against Brisbane.

Calf, quadriceps and hamstring injuries restricted Reid to just four AFL games last season with a further setback just before Christmas prompting the club to send him to Germany to consult with world-renowned soft-tissue expert Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.

“I think we probably over-reacted in a way because all he had was a little bit of a soft-tissue problem with his calf,” Balme said on Monday.

Jarrod Witts also made a successful return from shoulder surgery in the VFL.

Fellow ruckman Brodie Grundy sent a scare through the Collingwood camp when he hobbled from the field during Sunday’s NAB Challenge loss to Carlton in Bendigo, but Balme confirmed he had only suffered a bruised hip.

Brent Macaffer, who is on the comeback trail from a knee reconstruction, will be placed on the long-term injury list, but the Pies are yet to decide which rookie will take his place on the senior list.