Fraser a chance to play against Saints
Collingwood ruckman Josh Fraser says he is glad he took his chance to play for Victoria, despite injuring his knee during Saturday night's AFL Hall of Fame tribute match.
The big Magpie still rates himself some chance to play against St Kilda at Telstra Dome on Friday night, after learning the posterior cruciate ligament strain was not as bad as initially feared.
He said the injury had not caused him to question the worth of playing in the representative match.
"I've said to a few boys already it would be a shame if they went through their careers and didn't get a chance to pull on the big V, so I've got no regrets at all," Fraser said.
"It's an injury that could've happened at training, it could've happened anywhere. It was a great thrill to be able to play for Victoria and I've got no regrets whatsoever."
There were fears the injury, sustained in a centre bounce clash with the Dream Team's Dean Cox in the final term, could sideline him for a month or two.
But it was assessed Monday as relatively minor.
"It's pretty positive. I'm still a chance to play this week," Fraser told reporters.
"We've got a couple of training sessions to go before Friday so I'll give myself a chance there ... it's definitely not a long term thing.
"Initially I probably thought it wasn't great, but I guess the 24 hours post-game it responded really well.
"I did everything I possibly could to make sure it settled, so the docs have had a look at me this morning, they're relatively happy with it."
He is likely to test the knee at training late in the week.
The improved diagnosis is vital for the Magpies, given Fraser's importance to their ruck contingent, with his main partner 21-year-old Cameron Wood.
Collingwood's season is delicately poised at a 3-4 win-loss record, after a heavy defeat to Hawthorn in their most recent match.
"We (Collingwood) have been a bit disappointing in recent weeks. Certainly the Hawthorn game wasn't great for us, so St Kilda presents a pretty good challenge," Fraser said.
Meanwhile Adelaide are hopeful that midfielder Brent Reilly will be right to resume playing immediately after recovering from a broken wrist.
The cast will be removed on Tuesday to allow him to train fully.
Fremantle's Des Headland will have surgery on his left knee later this week, with the Dockers saying he will be out for six to eight weeks.
And Essendon are hopeful four key players will be ready to return against Sydney on Sunday, with Adam Ramanauskas over a virus, while Mark McVeigh (hamstring), Dustin Fletcher (adductor) and Jason Winderlich (groin) will attempt to prove their fitness this week.
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