Scott Pendlebury may have played final game as Collingwood confirm double blow

Collingwood have been dealt a double blow ahead of their wildcard match with veteran Scott Pendlebury and tough defender Brayden Maynard already ruled out.

Pendlebury was ruled out in the second quarter of Friday night’s 63-point loss to Brisbane with what the Magpies described as a “knee bursa”.

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On Saturday morning, the club said the 38-year-old actually suffered a hamstring injury and will miss the next 2-3 weeks.

Maynard, meanwhile, suffered a fresh MCL strain at training on Saturday morning. It’s the same knee he previously hurt.

These are obviously disappointing setbacks for both Scott and Brayden,” Collingwood footy boss Charlie Gardiner said.

“Scott experienced tightness in the back of his knee during last night’s game. Scans earlier today confirmed a hamstring strain and we expect Scott to be sidelined for two to three weeks.

“Brayden unfortunately left the track early this morning during a training session, with scans confirming he sustained a grade one MCL strain. This is the same knee but unrelated to his earlier injury.

“These are unfortunate setbacks especially at this time of year but Scott and Brayden are absolute professionals and will do all they can to get back as quickly as possible.”

With the Pies needing to win at least two knockout finals, and potentially three, for Pendlebury to be available again, there are now doubts whether he will play another game.

Pendlebury, who is out of contract, is keen to play on in 2027, though there are different views within the Collingwood setup as to whether he is worthy of a list spot .

The situation remains very delicate, given the iconic status Pendlebury boasts within and outside the club.

But experts have questioned why he was even playing given it was effectively a dead rubber for the Pies.

“Did they just think, we’ll treat it as a mini training run and that’s better than putting our players through a training run? That’s the only sort of counterview that I can give you,” Channel 7 commentator Kane Cornes said on SEN.