His absence is a massive blow for the injury hit Magpies, with Mihocek Collingwood’s leading goalkicker for the past five seasons. He has kicked 19 goals in 11 games this season after kicking 47 and 41 in the previous two campaigns under coach Craig McRae, who spoke about the nature of Mihocek’s injury in his post-match press conference. Collingwood are already struggling without experienced forwards Jamie Elliott, Mason Cox and Beau McCreery, who are all injured with little continuity in the forward mix this season.
Dan McStay is a chance to return from a knee reconstruction within the next fortnight with McRae not ruling out the prospect that he could immediately return to the AFL, rather than go back through the VFL. Ash Johnson and Reef McInnes are playing against Frankston in the VFL on Sunday.
Collingwood football manager Brendon Bolton said Mihocek would have surgery this coming week.
“This is disappointing news for Brody, who is set to miss the remainder of the home and away season,” Bolton said.
“It is unfortunate for Brody, who has already spent some time on the sidelines this season.
“Brody is a resilient person, and we have no doubt he and our high-performance team will be proactive in taking every step possible to ensure the best recovery.”
“He is expected to have surgery in the coming days and our program will continue to support him through this next period.”
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The good news for the Magpies is that premiership ruckman Darcy Cameron has been cleared of broken ribs after visiting hospital on Friday night following the loss to Essendon. He attended recovery with teammate Brayden Maynard on Saturday morning with bruising, having copped a knock in the same spot at training on Wednesday as he did during the match on Friday night.
Defender Isaac Quaynor remains a chance to play against Geelong next Friday night, with the Magpies confirming on Saturday he would face a test later in the week on an injured toe, while McRae admitted that wingman Josh Daicos (calf) was touch and go to face the Bombers before he passed a fitness test. Tom Mitchell remains sidelined with a foot injury.
The Magpies play the Cats at the MCG, with John Noble (concussion) a chance to return. Defender Charlie Dean was subbed out of the match against the Bombers and may struggle to retain his spot against the Cats.
Collingwood’s loss to Essendon puts them in danger of falling out of the top eight at the end of the round as they back up their 2023 premiership. They have two wins and a draw from their past six matches with injuries consistently impacting the team.
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