Collingwood X-factor Jordan De Goey will undergo finger surgery this weekend after injuring himself during his five-goal display against Geelong.
De Goey damaged the flexor tendon in his right middle finger during the third quarter of his team’s 22-point win over the Cats on Thursday night.
The 24-year-old played on with the injury, booting three goals in the final term to lift his team over the line.
The Magpies have not released a timeline on when they expect De Goey to be fit to play again, but the forward will remain with the team in their Perth hub.
“We will have a better idea of an expected return date following his surgery,” Collingwood’s football operations manager Geoff Walsh said.
The Magpies’ next match is against West Coast on Sunday week.
After the win over Geelong, Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said De Goey was eager to move into the midfield.
“Jordy is probably a frustrated midfielder and he would like to be there ultimately,” Buckley said.
“And we see him in that capacity in the medium term.
“But right now, when he’s kicking five goals in a shortened game and in a low-scoring year, we’ll take that.
“We were looking for a little bit of legs in the midfield late in the game and we went to Jack Crisp because Jordy was so dangerous forward of the ball.”
De Goey’s big haul came less than two weeks after he was charged with indecent assault over an alleged incident from 2015.
Buckley said De Goey was enjoying being in Collingwood’s quarantine bubble in Perth.
“He enjoyed being around his teammates,” Buckley said.
“We feel like we create a safe environment for our people, whether they’re players, coaches or staff.
“So I think Jordy has enjoyed having that support around him and he was happy to play his part, no doubt.”
The Magpies’ fourth win of the season saw them rocket into second spot.
Buckley opted against playing 211cm forward Mason Cox in the wet conditions against Geelong, but said the decision could have gone either way.
“We just thought that the question mark was a bit of straightening us up and being able to go long down the line to Mason in front of the ball versus just having a little bit more ground ball hunt,” Buckley said.