Collingwood star Jordan De Goey is in doubt to return for the milestone game of club legend Scott Pendlebury, who Magpies coach Craig McRae hailed as the AFL's most professional player.
McRae pleaded for the Collingwood faithful to pack out the MCG against Carlton on Saturday night to celebrate Pendlebury becoming just the sixth VFL/AFL player - after Michael Tuck, Kevin Bartlett, Dustin Fletcher, Brent Harvey and Shaun Burgoyne - to reach 400 games.
De Goey has been managing a groin issue for most of the season and was a late withdrawal from last Sunday's win against Richmond.
McRae was "not sure, I don’t think so" when asked if the premiership hero would require surgery at season's end and believed it was too far out from facing the Blues to declare if he would play or not.
However, pressure forward Beau McCreery and tall Nathan Kreuger will almost certainly be back to boost the Magpies' push to keep their premiership defence alive.
"I’m still unsure, I really am. I think even our medical team is unsure," McRae said about De Goey playing against Carlton.
"This is the one that we write down in our calendar, and we want to turn up for this one.
"If you’re umming and ahhing about going to the game this week, Collingwood supporters - stop, get to the game, we’ve got one of our greatest-ever players celebrating a huge milestone against our biggest rival.
"C’mon, what are you doing? Get to the game!
"Everyone wants to play in this game for 'Pendles', all those guys that are maybe a little bit sore ... everyone's up for this game."
McRae was full of admiration for Pendlebury, who on Monday confirmed he will play on for a remarkable 20th season in 2025.
The 36-year-old's emphatic declaration caught McRae off-guard.
"I haven't had that conversation with 'Pendles'," McRae added on Tuesday.
"I wasn't aware that it was that categoric, but I'm sure this time of year those things are happening.
"Funnily enough, I tried to catch up with him last week.
"I don't really want to do it this week with such a big game.
"We catch up regularly to talk about where he's at, mind, body and spirit."
But McRae called Pendlebury's career "remarkable".
Pendlebury was drafted to Collingwood in 2005, only a year after McRae, 50, retired from the AFL following 195 games with the Brisbane Lions.
"It'd be hard to find others that would rival (his professionalism)," McRae said.
"Professionalism is one thing, but I think just being able to manage his body and then play at the highest level, and play with such intensity for so long is unbelievable."
Collingwood sit 12th, a game and percentage outside of the top eight, with four games left in the home-and-away season.
