2011 over for Brown

Any bid by Collingwood to have injured defender Nathan Brown back this season appears to have been scuppered by the club's preference for the 22-year-old to undergo a traditional knee reconstruction.

Magpies football manager Geoff Walsh said the club was unlikely to recommend Brown undergo the LARS procedure, which uses a synthetic ligament and can cut recovery time to as short as three months.

"In my time with this organisation we haven't had too many advocates for it, so I don't have a lot of positive stuff to say [about LARS] because I know a lot of people haven't had a great deal of faith in it," Walsh told SEN.

"That may change in time when more are done and proved to be successful because common sense says you look at those pure statistics, but right at the moment, in my four or five years, we haven't had many people pushing for it on the odd occasion when we've had players who've had to go through knee reconstructions."

Sydney's Nick Malceski and Port Adelaide's David Rodan have both undergone the LARS procedure in recent years, with mixed results. Malceski returned without problems, but Rodan had to undergo further surgery in November last year.

Brown, who played in Collingwood's premiership in his 50th game and is regarded as one of the best young defenders in the league, will most likely undergo surgery this week and will look to return for Round 1, 2012.