Rising Pie Harvey Harrison will endure a lengthy period of recovery after sustaining a cruel anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee.
The incident occurred in the VFL curtain-raiser ahead of the Friday night blockbuster, the 20-year-old forward going down in the opening term of the eventual five-goal loss.
With Collingwood's hopes of a back-to-back premiership campaign all but shot, this injury comes as a devastating blow, killing off the the preseason development of one of their exciting young talents.
Harrison had been gradually developing into a mainstay in the senior side, featuring in 12 AFL matches this season, up from his four last year.
He provided some exciting glimpses of hope for the future at the Pies with some near-breakout performances, including his dynamic 13 disposal, three goal, nine tackle effort in their draw with Fremantle.
On a list lacking a heap of young prodigies outside of Nick Daicos, the loss of Harrison may force Collingwood into some off-season recruitment calls, perhaps replacing some older veterans with incoming youngsters.
Club footy boss Brendon Bolton shared the dour update in a media release, saying “This is disappointing news for Harvey who is set to spend an extended period of time on the sidelines."
“Harvey has shown resilience in his time at the Club and we're confident he'll attack this next period of his rehab as best as he can with the support of our Club and our medical team.”
Collingwood's season ends with two tough clashes in the closing fortnight, facing Brisbane and Melbourne at the MCG with hopes taking momentum into summer as their finals hopes fade out of sight.