Collingwood star Dane Swan is playing hurt and not guaranteed of lining up against the West Coast Eagles on Sunday, according to coach Mick Malthouse.
Malthouse revealed that Swan, who was held to a season-low 21 touches in last weekend's win over Adelaide, is one of several Magpies playing under duress.
"You don't report every bump and bruise that players carry," said Malthouse.
"If you can get through a season and feel good about yourself, I think you're going to be in the minority."
"Players who can play but are restricted will be in the majority and then there's the others that play and they shouldn't."
"Dane is one of seven or eight players able to play but slightly restricted."
Speaking ahead of Thursday morning's closed training session at Gosch's Paddock, Malthouse said it was too early to declare Swan a certainty to play against the Eagles.
"As far as I'm aware he'll play, but we play Sunday and the reason we've got this (media conference) here (and now) is so I don't have to tell you any fibs," he said.
Malthouse said he expected premiership trio Alan Toovey, Leigh Brown and Ben Johnson, who've missed between one and four weeks, to train with the proviso that if they're selected, they'll be given until Saturday to prove their fitness.
The naming of the out-of-form Alan Didak as the substitute against the Crows, he said, had nothing to do with Didak's fitness but was intended to freshen him up.
"You don't have players on the bench who can't play 100-percent game time," Malthouse said.
"If you can get away with a player who plays only a quarter of that time it's a great resting period."
"Someone has to be the 'sub' player … but the flip side is that if you don't get injuries you can actually rest up a player for two-thirds or three-quarters of a match."
Meanwhile, Malthouse said he was 'bewildered' by newspaper reports that the club was planning to send a number of players including Swan and injured ruckman Darren Jolly to undergo rehab in the United States.
According to the Herald Sun, the mid-season camp would be conducted at high-altitude at the club's pre-season base in Arizona.
Malthouse described the report as 'part right, lot wrong' and said the club was still weighing up the costs and benefits.
"It's fantastic in theory if you had an extended break mid-way through the year and you had the finances," he said.
"It's not a gamble … but there's a lot of things to be discussed."