COLLINGWOOD may be boosted by the return of star small forward Alan Didak for Saturday's match against Port Adelaide.

The Magpies will wait to see how Didak trains this week before deciding where he plays his first game since having knee surgery during the off-season.

Collingwood football chief Geoff Walsh said the All-Australian and last year's best-and-fairest winner could play either against Port at the MCG or the following afternoon for VFL affiliate Williamstown.

"We'll see how he goes, but he'll certainly be pushing this week," Walsh said.

Collingwood captain Nathan Buckley is not ready to return from a hamstring injury, but vice-captain James Clement, who pulled out of last Friday night's win over Richmond with a calf problem, could come straight back into the senior line-up.

The Power will be without in-form ruckman Dean Brogan, but will be pleased that X-rays yesterday confirmed an ankle injury from Saturday's loss to Adelaide was not serious.

The scans showed that Brogan had a sprained ankle, which will sideline him for a fortnight.

St Kilda will wait until later in the week to see if co-captain Luke Ball has overcome the lingering effects of concussion before deciding whether he will play in Saturday's match against Essendon.

The Saints regained star forward Nick Riewoldt for their 50-point thrashing of the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night, and he booted four goals in his first game since injuring a hamstring in the pre-season.

"There's always a little bit of nerves when you're coming back, I think it's been about 10 weeks for a hamstring, so it's been a bit of a saga," Riewoldt said. "But it's good to come back and get a feel for it again and, most importantly, to play in a winning team. I had a few little setbacks along the way, that probably cost me two or three weeks every time.

"In the end they just played the conservative card. I might have been able to play round one, I probably could have played last week, but I was definitely right this week. They took the no-risk policy and so far it's paid off. Hopefully, I'm out of the woods now."

The Saints will anxiously await the outcome of video scrutiny of full-forward Fraser Gehrig, who was caught on camera swinging a fist into the midriff of Bulldogs defender Brian Harris.

Essendon will test midfielder Nathan Lovett-Murray, who withdrew on Saturday because of groin soreness.

West Coast is confident Norm Smith medallist Andrew Embley will not be affected by a knock to his right kneecap during Saturday's win over Fremantle. Embley manipulated his kneecap into place after it locked on him and he played out the game.

Another hamstring injury will curtail the return of Fremantle midfielder Andrew Browne for at least a fortnight. Browne has had a horror run with injury over the past two years.

Injury-hit Melbourne must wait longer for the return of forward Russell Robertson, who had surgery on Saturday to remove blood from around his knee after he landed awkwardly in round two. Doctors found he had also dented his tibia, and he could now be sidelined for up to two months. Skipper David Neitz and Clint Bartram are also out because of knee injuries.

Meanwhile the Eagles will nurse ruckmen Dean Cox and Mark Seaby through training this week, but are confident the pair will be fit to tackle Carlton after picking up fresh injuries on Saturday night.

"Coxy's a bit sore this morning, he just copped a knock on the knee and is hobbling around a bit," West Coast football manager Steve Woodhouse said.

"Seabs hurt his ankle, but we're confident that he and Coxy can both get up because of the eight-day break."

AAP