Collingwood premiership defenders Ben Reid and Nathan Brown are on track to feature in the Magpies' NAB Cup campaign, according to football and coaching strategist Rodney Eade.
Reid's pre-season hit a snag a month ago when he strained his right shoulder during a freak accident while on holidays in Thailand.
And Brown has been on the comeback trail since undergoing surgery in June for a fractured right kneecap after he took a tumble while on a high-altitude hike in Arizona.
The incident occurred just four months after the 23-year-old had his left knee reconstructed.
But the pair have been impressive on the training track and are expected to play some part in the pre-season competition.
"They're both tracking really well," Eade said after training at Gosch's Paddock on Wednesday.
"We had match simulation today and both those players got involved so we're pretty confident Ben will probably play Round 2 of the NAB Cup."
"Browny's just got a bit more work to do on his knee but we're reasonably confident he might be able to get the last trial or two in."
Eade said Reid, who also played in last year's grand final with what was believed to have been a torn adductor muscle, was ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation program.
"He's progressed really well, he's probably a week or two ahead of schedule where we thought he might be," Eade said.
"But he's done competitive work now so he just needs a little bit more finetuning, he won't play NAB (Cup Round) 1, then we have that break and we play NAB (Cup Round) 2 so there's a reasonable chance he might get a half or so in NAB (Cup Round) 2."
The club was also optimistic Alan Didak would take part in the NAB Cup at some stage after it was revealed on Tuesday the 29-year-old suffered a torn adductor which Eade described as 'minor'.
"Alan's really positive about it, he was limping around yesterday but he's walking quite well today so he's quite pleased with it," Eade said.
"We're fairly confident it'll only be the four weeks so we'll hopefully get one or two trials games towards the end of the NAB Cup."
Eade joined Collingwood in October, after nearly seven seasons as Western Bulldogs coach, to fill the role that was originally designated for outgoing Magpies mentor Mick Malthouse.
And Eade, who was also at the helm of Sydney for over six years, admitted he was still 'getting used to' his new position at the Westpac Centre.
"I'm certainly enjoying it at the moment ... There's no doubt about that (there's less pressure), I think the hair will start to grow back," Eade quipped.