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AAP
Sport
Steve Larkin

Port expect key trio to return to face Collingwood

Charlie Dixon is one of three Port stars expected back from injury to face the Magpies in round 19. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

Port Adelaide expect forward Charlie Dixon to be among a key trio to return from injury for Saturday night's table-topping blockbuster against Collingwood.

Dynamic on-baller Zak Butters has also been cleared of a groin injury and will feature in the Adelaide Oval fixture between the ladder-leading Magpies and second-placed Power.

Butters was substituted out of Port's loss to Carlton last Saturday, a game which Dixon (ankle), midfielder Jason Horne-Francis (back) and fullback Trent McKenzie (ankle) missed.

Dixon, Horne-Francis and McKenzie will all return, barring any flare-ups at training this week.

"We expect Charlie to be right, he ran yesterday and felt pretty comfortable," Port assistant coach Josh Carr said on Tuesday.

"(Horne-Francis) is moving alright and he's pulled up well from weekend training and been looking after that back so we also expect him to be in.

"He had been struggling with that back and it wasn't going to get any better by playing.

"And we have obviously got the bigger picture, which is the whole season, to make sure that he can get through.

"We felt that it was getting worse every week and we needed to do something about it and that was obviously not playing on the weekend.

"Hopefully he gets through this week's training and it's better and he's ready to go."

The Power will be without Darcy Byrne-Jones (concussion) but McKenzie's likely return puts pressure on captain and fellow defender Tom Jonas to retain his spot in the side.

Jonas was summoned to replace McKenzie after the skipper spent seven weeks in state league ranks.

"There's a lot of water to go under the bridge as far as selection goes," Carr said.

"Those (selection) conversations will be had later in the week."

Goalsneak Junior Rioli is also on the selection table after missing the loss to the Blues, which ended Port's club-record 13-game winning streak, to attend a family function in Darwin to mark his father's passing in mid-July last year.

And Orazio Fantasia is also pushing for his first AFL game this season - the injury-plagued forward kicked three goals in the state league last weekend, his fifth match at the lower level in the past six weeks.

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