Collingwood vice-captain Brayden Maynard will have surgery and likely miss the remainder of the regular season in a blow to the high-flying Magpies.

Maynard has avoided any structural damage to his left knee, but coach Craig McRae on Tuesday confirmed he will miss three to four weeks.

That rules the hard-nosed backman out of Thursday night’s blockbuster against Geelong, games against West Coast and Hawthorn and leaves him in a race against time to face reigning premiers the Brisbane Lions.

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“No, ‘Bruzzy’ won’t play. He’s having a minor procedure in the next day or so,” McRae said.

“... He’ll miss 3-4 weeks.”

When asked if Maynard would be back for finals, McRae said: “Well, we’re hoping so.

“That’s the plan - three to four weeks post procedure that it’ll be right. If he doesn’t have this procedure, he’s probably going to be three or four weeks as well.

“So we’re going down the route of managing the things we can control.

“I’ll let the medical team announce it. It’s quite unique. It’s sort of like crossing between a hamstring and a knee injury. There’s not too many of them.”

Dynamic midfielder Jordan De Goey didn’t train on Tuesday.

“He’s actually sick. He’s got a bit of a viral thing,” McRae said.

“He’ll be named and we anticipate he plays.”

Josh Daicos has pulled up well after pushing through an ankle issue to play in last week’s win over Adelaide.

Forward Lachie Schultz (ankle) could play, but will be assessed and have to prove his fitness.

Ruckman Darcy Cameron had a light session after a heavy recent load.

Brayden Maynard won't play under the bright lights against Geelong, nor in the two following games. Credit: AAP

Eighth-placed Collingwood (11-1-7) head into the clash with the ninth-placed Cats (11-8) at the MCG on a six-game winning streak.

Superstar Nick Daicos will have gun tagger Oisin Mullin for company.

“I’ve got a meeting with Nick this afternoon. We meet up regularly and talk about what’s coming and what we can do,” McRae said.

“The great thing with Nick and what we’ve done over a number of years now is he’s not a target to stand still. And if you’re a target that stands still, then you can take things away.

“It’s hard to take everything away from Nick because he can play everywhere. So we’ll work our way through what that looks like ... He’s (Mullin) done a great job on a couple of really good players in the competition and then he’s got our version as well this week.

“We’re going to have to be on our game and Nick’s critical to what we’re doing. So we make sure we get the best of what we can and he might be restricted, but how much - we’ll wait and see.”

Cats weigh up Dangerfield call for Magpies clash

Geelong are yet to rule out skipper Patrick Dangerfield for their blockbuster clash with Collingwood as the veteran manages a hip complaint.

Dangerfield, 36, jarred his hip in the second quarter of the Cats’ win over Melbourne last week and finished that game on the bench but trained on Tuesday.

Coach Chris Scott made it clear ninth-placed Geelong wouldn’t necessarily take a conservative approach in Thursday night’s high-stakes clash at the MCG.

Patrick Dangerfield was not in a good way during Geelong’s clash with Melbourne last week. Credit: Getty

“No, we haven’t made that decision yet. It’s on the table,” Scott said on Tuesday.

“I think I flagged last night ... that it’s unlikely that we would take him through consecutive games for, hopefully it’s two months.

“So whether it’s this week or not, we’re not quite sure. It will depend on how he pulls up. So we’ll know more after our session today.”

Geelong have managed the explosive Dangerfield through recent campaigns to have him firing at the pointy end of the season.

Scott said it had long been clear to Dangerfield, who this week signed for 2027, it was unlikely he would play every game each season.

“We do have a bit of experience with this now. We’re confident in our processes there,” the Geelong coach said.

“What that means for Thursday is a bit hard to predict, I wouldn’t like to speculate either way. Both options are on the table now.

“What I would say is, just to help you with the way I think about things, if we were clear that he wasn’t going to play I’d tell you now.

“So that gives you a bit of an indication that he’s actually pulled up better than what was feared.”

With stars Jeremy Cameron and Max Holmes sidelined, there would clearly be a temptation to play Dangerfield especially given Collingwood are without big-bodied defender Brayden Maynard.

“The short answer’s yes. You look at the magnets and you think our team looks better with him in it,” Scott said.

“But, hopefully, the more realistic interpretation of these things is to not focus on what the players are capable of when you look at the magnets and focus on what the reality is right at the moment.

“So, him less than his best - I just can’t think of a game where we’re going to do that at any stage, especially with the options that we do have available.”

Scott won’t let “hope” Dangerfield could have a big impact against eighth-placed Collingwood influence his decision-making.

“I’m really confident we’ll make a smart decision there,” he said.

“So I think, again, that’s another way of saying if he plays you can have some confidence that he’s really ready to go.”