Collingwood midfielder Luke Ball remains at least a fortnight away from resuming in the VFL.
The Magpies are being extremely cautious with the 28-year-old, who needed a knee reconstruction a year ago.
Coach Nathan Buckley said they wanted to put Ball through much greater training intensity before testing him in a match.
Then he will need at least two or three weeks in the VFL before they consider him for a senior recall.
“We’re really conscious of making sure we get enough match-simulated training into players who have missed large chunks of pre-season,” Buckley said.
“Getting that balance right when you actually get into home-and-away can become difficult.
“There’s an urgency about getting players back.
“Bally still has, we feel, a couple of weeks of match intensity to get into him before we’re happy to unleash him into a game.”
Ball has played 193 games, including 51 for the ‘Pies since he joined them from St Kilda in 2010.