Collingwood’s Irish utility Marty Clarke believes the Magpies have the depth to cover the horror injury toll at the AFL club.
Ahead of their clash with Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on Saturday, when Clarke will mark his 50 game milestone, Collingwood had another two stars – Dale Thomas and Heath Shaw – join the casualty ward with hamstring injuries.
They now have seven first-choice players sidelined.
Clarke, who returned to Melbourne this season after a two-year break playing Gaelic football in his homeland, said there were young players desperate for the chance to make their mark.
“We’ve had a few injuries to class players but it’s a dangerous road when you start thinking about what we don’t have,” he said.
“It’s a massive list, there’s almost 50 players.
“We do have a lot of young players coming through and Ben Johnson is coming back and he’s a brilliant lad around the club and it will be great to have him back.”
Veteran Johnson trained strongly with the Magpies on Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury and is set to play his first senior game of the season against the Power.