Collingwood star Jordan De Goey has had a process to repair his troublesome proper shoulder in a small setback forward of the 2023 AFL season.
The explosive midfielder underwent a minor arthroscopy on Monday and can spend just a few weeks on the sidelines.
But the Magpies count on De Goey to be again in full coaching early within the new 12 months, lengthy earlier than their round-one assembly with premiers Geelong on March 17.
De Goey initially injured the shoulder throughout Collingwood’s qualifying remaining defeat to the Cats and was despatched for scans, however carried on by way of the finals collection.
“Jordy had some soreness … and we gave him pretty much the whole break to let it settle down, which is normal,” Magpies assistant coach Hayden Skipworth informed reporters on Monday.
“He’s not quite where we need him to be.
“He went to see a specialist and he is having some minor surgical procedure to get him again on observe, however he’ll be again working inside a few weeks.
“We gave him as long as we could and we didn’t want to affect the pre-season much longer.
“It was – get him in and he’ll be again working earlier than our Christmas break.”
De Goey considered leaving Collingwood before signing a five-year contract extension at the end of September.
Negotiations stalled at one point because of the club’s determination to insert behavioural clauses in the 26-year-old’s new contract.
But the parties reached a compromise, with such clauses reportedly only in the first two years of the new deal.
De Goey attracted serious interest from rival clubs, including St Kilda and Essendon, despite off-field misdemeanours that have threatened his career over the last 12 months.
The 137-game midfielder is an important a part of the Magpies’ premiership plans in 2023 after they reached a preliminary remaining in Craig McRae’s first season on the helm.
